Duty
by negative 97
Summary: An oath of service is not so easily broken, even towards Princess Diana, former right hand of the High Councilor. She knew her actions were horrible and she knew they made her a monster, but she had her duty, and she intended to see it through.
1. Chapter 1 Two-Faced

Ch. 1

Two-Faced

 _Injustice 2 and DC Comics are the property of their respective owners, Ocs belong to me_

Where had it all gone wrong? At one point, she had been loyally serving Princess Diana, but ever since that... _pretender_ came, everything fell apart. Now her Princess was imprisoned, the Regime had fallen, the world was falling into chaos once more, and ever since being outed as a loyalist to Diana, spent her days aimlessly drifting on a boat after barely escaping imprisonment.

Releasing a breathe, the woman leaned back in her chair and brushed her auburn hair over her shoulder and looked up at the moon with her steely, blue eyes while listening to the surprisingly calm sound of the waves gently pushing the boat. Having nothing to do would drive most people mad, but luckily the woman had someone else for company as she spared a glance at her spouse who was tirelessly working on something for their child who was sound asleep in her bed in the other room.

"And...that...should...do it!" her partner, a woman with vibrant blonde hair, dark skin, razor sharp teeth, and a tail one would expect to find on some kind of shark happily exclaimed as she carefully injected a sample of the water from a lazarus pit into the kryptonian nanotech pill, 5-U-93-R.

The dark skinned woman then crushed the nanotech pill into dust and poured it into a water bottle which she placed on the nightstand near their 10 year old child's bed. Allowing a grin to tug at the corner of her lips, the blonde haired woman gently brushed some of their child's hair back while the Amazon folded her arms.

"I don't know about this, beloved," the woman worriedly told her partner causing her spouse to knowingly nod and tightly clasp her shoulder making the Amazon grip her partner's hand.

"I know, but the Regime's gone and it's former members, i.e. you, are being hunted so we have to give Julia the best protection we can," the Atlantean reasoned while gesturing at their snoozing child causing the Amazon to sigh heavily, but nodded nonetheless as she stared at Julia before nervously gripping her arm.

"You're sure it won't hurt her or have any freaky side effects?" the second woman inquired causing the dark haired woman to nod vigorously and put one hand over her heart while holding her other hand up with a smile.

"Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," the dark skinned woman responded while accidentally poking herself in the eye with her pinky causing her to yelp and rub the organ making her partner shake her head.

Suddenly, they heard a tired groan causing both woman to glance to the side and saw Julia groggily sit up in her bed where she stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes before grabbing the water bottle on her nightstand.

"This doesn't look like it has that nano-whatever pill in it," Julia analyzed with a loud yawn before scratching her armpit causing the Amazon to say nothing as her spouse walked over to their child and sat on the edge of Julia's bed.

"I crushed it into dust so it'd be easier to ingest, but you don't have to drink it if you don't want to," the Amazon's partner explained causing the young girl to blankly stare at the water bottle before popping the cap off and chugging the water down.

"I guess we know where she gets her appetite from, don't we Demetria?" the dark skinned woman quipped causing Demetria to scoff and roll her eyes as she approached her child and experimentally squeezed on Julia's wrist.

Instead of feeling the soft, smooth touch of flesh, Demetria felt as if her daughter's flesh was rigid, unyielding steel causing the dark skinned woman to tilt her head and poke Julia in the belly button causing the girl to yelp.

"Wow, the pill did an even better job than I expected! It's like I'm poking a blast door!" the dark skinned woman merrily pointed out while poking her child's belly button once again causing Julia to blush and cover her midsection with her arms.

"Mom, stop!" Julia sheepishly cried out causing the dark skinned woman to laugh and hold her hands up while Demetria couldn't help but let a smile tug at the corner of her lips.

"Alright, alright. Your mother and I are going to talk some more so try to get some sleep," Valeria stated causing Julia to give a thumbs up in response before laying back down in her bed and closing her eyes.

Smiling, Demtria and her spouse exited their child's room and walked up the steps of the boat near the steering wheel where Demetria sat down on the railing with her hands in her pockets while her partner leaned against the railing with her hands behind her head.

"Care to tell me what you put in the pill, Valeria?" Demetria inquired while staring at the empty expanse of sea causing the dark skinned woman to rush over to her desk where it looked like the Atlantean grabbed papers at random before returning to her spouse.

"Alright, so I injected a buttload of Venom into it which increased the tensile strength of bones and tissue to ten thousand percent which I know doesn't sound like much, but it's still an improvement over the old one and I added a syringe full of lazarus to act as a stabilizer. Best of all, it's permanent so there's no risk of her becoming an addict!" Valeria explained cheerfully causing Demetria to narrow her eyes at her beloved causing the dark skinned woman to nervously grin and rub the back of her neck before the Amazon sighed.

"I don't suppose you have anymore of those pills lying around?" Demetria asked causing her beloved to tap her chin while the amazon checked on Julia who was already sound asleep.

"I think, but I'm not too sure since I tested most of the prototypes on myself," Valeria answered as she rushed over to her desk causing Demetria to raise a brow as she saw her spouse scrounge through the drawers like a raccoon rummaging through the garbage before pulling out a case containing two pills.

"Voila! They're not as potent as the one I gave to Julia since I wanted to save the best one for her, but they're still pretty powerful. You want one?" Valeria questioned while grabbing a pill and flicking it up in the air like a coin before swallowing it causing the Amazon to slowly take the pill out of the case before putting it in her pocket.

"I'll stick to my natural strength and martial prowess for the time being, but I'm glad you took one," Demetria replied causing Valeria to raise a brow as she grabbed every note she took on her experiments and encased them in a bubble of water where she increased the temperature in the bubble to boiling levels which disintegrated the notes to nothing.

"Oh, I see. My own wife thinks I can't handle myself," Valeria responded with a fake pout causing Demetria to blush and frantically wave her hands as she tried to form a coherent sentence.

"I-I'm not saying you can't fight, it's just...I don't want anything to happen to you," Demetria stuttered causing her spouse to clasp her hands and embrace the amazon with a wide grin on her face causing Demetria to roll her eyes, but returned the gesture nevertheless.

"And I don't want anything to happen to you, but that's going to be hard since you want to free Diana so badly with only the three of us," Valeria replied while gently poking her spouses's nose causing Demetria to rub the poked appendage before crossing her arms over her chest and standing up straight while her spouse rolled her shoulders.

"Firstly, it's _Princess_ Diana and secondly, it doesn't have to be just the two of us. We just need to find more loyalists among the Amazons and Atlanteans," Demetria reasoned causing Valeria to snort like a pig and laugh under her breathe making the Amazon glare at her spouse which made the Atlantean hold her hands up.

"Sorry hun, it's just that Diana is the Princess of the _Amazons,_ not the Atlanteans, so to me she's just Polemarch Diana. Also, almost no one in Fishville supported the Regime and most of Diana's loyalists on Lady Island are either imprisoned or dead," Valeria replied causing Demetria to curse under her breathe and tightly ball her hand into fist to the point it turned white while barely managing to not let out a frustrated roar.

"Damn it, I feel so helpless," Demetria seethed as she slammed her fist down on the railing causing a small crack in the wood before the Amazon felt her partner hug her from behind which made the Amazon sigh softly.

"Hey, don't get so down on yourself. We'll find a way to fight through the entire Amazonian Army and your Princess's replacement who should be just as strong as her," Valeria quipped with a shit eating grin causing Demetria to give her spouse the stink eye before staring up at the night sky with her wife who rested her chin on top of Demetria's head.

Maybe some day, there would be no Regime to fight for and no Princess she was obligated to serve, but for now she had her duty and she intended to carry it out to the best of her ability.

* * *

"Jeez, you hit hard, but I know you can hit harder!" Valeria goaded her daughter while stopping the heavy, wooden training sword being swung at her head with her open palm causing Julia to curse under her breathe.

Gnashing her teeth, Julia planted her feet on the ground and began pushing against Valeria with all her might which caused beads of sweat to stream down her brow and the veins on her arms to bulge, but the Atlantean wasn't budging in the slightest. Suddenly, Valeria shoved her daughter back causing Julia to yelp as she rolled with the momentum and got back onto her feet, but the force behind the shove still carried her backwards causing her to hit the wall of the ship. Grimacing, Julia slumped over and took in deep, heavy breathes while feeling as if her legs were jelly and the training sword she spent so much time using weighed a ton. Wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm, Julia gulped down a large breathe of air and slowly brought her training sword up with wobbly arms causing Valeria, who was scratching her butt while giving her daughter time to catch her breathe, to refocus on the training session.

Smirking, Valeria crossed her hands in an x over her face causing Julia to be taken aback before letting out a war cry and charging at her mother with reckless abandon with her training sword raised overhead causing Demetria, who was busy steering the boat, to roll her eyes. As expected, Valeria, despite seeming vulnerable, easily countered Julia's attack by landing a stiff punch on her daughter's wrist which knocked Julia's arm back and caused a painful tremor to travel up the girl's arm. Crying out, Julia unconsciously let go of her sword which made Demetria put her palm over her face and shake her head as she watched the training sword slide across the deck far out of her daughter's reach.

While Julia was reeling, Valeria launched a forceful, but restrained kick at the side of Julia's knee making the girl yelp and fall on her side while clutching her kneecap before the Atlantean pinched the inside of her daughter's nose and began pushing the appendage back.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Stop, stop!" Julia pleaded as Valeria hoisted Julia up to her feet making the girl bite the bottom of her lip and tightly shut her eyes before the Atlantean released her daughter with a low chuckle.

Stumbling back, Julia put her hands over her nose and rubbed the appendage while Valeria put her hands behnd her head as her daughter rolled her wrist before glowering at her.

"Who punches a wrist!?" Julia incredulously exclaimed with Demetria thinking she saw hot steam spew out of her daughter's ears while Valeria just laughed heartily and shrugged innocently.

"I do, sweetie," Valeria cheekily responded with a shit eating grin making Demetria stifle a laugh before she saw high rise buildings and the deafening sounds of traffic in the distance causing the Amazon to cup her hands over her mouth.

"Valeria, we're here," Demetria called out causing her spouse to raise a brow before shrugging and walking over to the edge of the boat while the Amazon jumped onto the deck and threw the anchor into the water.

"Okey dokey, you two sit tight. I won't be long," Valeria assured her family causing Demetria to nod as she rummaged through a box and pulled out two crude, makeshift harpoons before staring at her wife.

"Remember; you have five minutes to look for something else after you find whatever it is you're looking for," Demetria reminded her spouse causing Valeria to roll her eyes and stick out her tongue which made the Amazon fold her arms and narrow her eyes at the Atlantean who sighed before rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeah, yeah; I know," Valeria responded as she embraced her wife and shared a quick kiss with her while Julia timidly rubbed her arm and approached the Atlantean who stared down at her daughter and put her hand on her hip.

"Be careful," Julia requested while wrapping her arms around Valeria's wrist causing the dark skinned woman to smile and affectionately tousle her child's hair before walking over to the edge of the boat and standing on the railing like it was a diving board.

Giving a playful salute to her family, the Atlantean jumped off the edge of the boat and belly flopped onto the water where she swam towards the city swam at speeds that would give the King of Atlantis momentary pause. Keeping an eye on Valeria until she was out of sight, Demetria walked over to the edge of the boat and attempted to ascertain where she and her daughter could catch the most fish until she heard Julia meekly call out to her. Raising a brow, Demetria turned around and blankly glanced at her daughter who averted her gaze to the floor while rubbing her arm before sucking in a breathe and meeting her mom's gaze.

"It's just...why do we have to do all this hiding? I don't mind, I just want to know why," Julia hesitantly inquired and even if it was for a brief moment, Demetria's eyes widened and a cold sweat swept through her body like a flood.

" _M-my friends, m-my family, and e-even the children? Why? A-are you so loyal to Diana that you ignore all the horrible things she makes you do or is it that you just don't care how your actions affect others!? Y-you...y-you monster! I...I hate you! I HATE YOU!"_

" _Go on then, murderer! Kill me! But know that when you die, all the pain and suffering you've inflicted on everyone will be given back to you a hundred fold...and I hope Lord Hades reserves a special place in Tartarus just for you."_

" _So that's it, huh? After a hard days work, you get to go home to your loving wife and child and forget that you robbed other people of that very same thing!? How many more families do you have to destroy until you realize you're serving the wrong person?"_

Trembling and letting tears stream down her face, Demetria released a heavy breathe and wiped away her tears with her forearm while Julia tightly hugged her mother's leg upon seeing her distress causing the Amazon to grin.

"I'll...tell you when you're older, but for now, let's just leave it at mom did some things she wished she didn't while serving Princess Diana," Demetria answered in a tone barely above a whisper and honestly, she was expecting her daughter to poke and prod until she gathered more details, but instead Julia hugged her leg harder before looking up at her.

"I understand mom so please stop crying. I don't like seeing you sad," Julia stated while nuzzling her forehead into Demetria's thigh making the Amazon warmly rub her daughter's back before extending one of the harpoons to Julia.

"While we wait for your mom, how about I show you how to fish?" Demetria offered causing the young girl's eyes to beam like the sun and nodded excitedly as she grasped the offered harpoon and closely observed her mother who walked over to the edge of the boat with her harpoon held overhead.

* * *

Breaching the surface of the water, Valeria landed on a dock that for the most part seemed abandoned save for a few workers off in the distance just clocking in for work early in the morning causing the Atlantean to wrap her tail around her waist like a belt. If anyone asked, she could just say she was...what did the human youth call it? A furry? Yeah, that was it!

Grinning, Valeria put her hands behind her head and casually walked out onto the sidewalk where she headed in the direction of where she thought her objective was while ignoring the odd stares she was being given. Brushing off the fact that a mother concernedly pulled her child to the side as Valeria walked past them, the Atlantean picked her nose and flicked the booger off to the side before seeing construction workers tirelessly working to tear down the giant, bronze statue of the city's former guardian. Looking up at the statue, the Atlantean saw why so many people had looked up to him in the past; the S insignia was a symbol that could inspire hope even in the darkest times and with the long, flowing red cape, one could have mistaken the Man of Steel for a noble knight...at least in the past.

Now, however, all this larger than life representation of the Man of Steel brought was painful memories of a darker time. Pursing her lips, Valeria continued to walk down the sidewalk before coming to an intersection with multiple crosswalks and thought she had to take a right, but wanted to be sure.

"Excuse me sir, can you tell me which way is S.T.A.R Labs?" the Atlantean politely asked a man in a business suit reading a newspaper while sipping a cup of coffee causing the man to glance at her and jolt when he saw her gills and shark tail.

"S-sure! You take a right and from there it's a straight shot, you can't miss it!" the man stuttered causing Valeria to tap her chin and stare in the direction he advised her to go before smiling widely.

"Thank you!" Valeria gratefully told the man who awkwardly waved back at her before the Atlantean continued to walk toward her destintation while pondering what she would do if the Regime did get back in power.

Changing it from the inside was the first thought that occurred to her as far too many members of the Regime abused their power and far too often, the Regime didn't let the punishment fit the crime. Furrowing her brow when she recalled the Regime dumping Atlantis into the Sahara, Valeria released a breathe and continued to walk down the street before she saw armed guards standing outside a particular building.

" _There it is, do I want to take a subtle or direct approach?"_ Valeria pondered while looking up at the sky as the security guards, armed with the weaponry and gear one would come to expect when guarding valuable technology, dutifully looked around for any threats.

Shrugging, Valeria casually walked up to the door with two of the security guards blocking it and two others standing off to the either side with their guns pointed at her while the leader of the group approached her.

" _Subtly direct,"_ Valeria thought to herself as what she assumed to be the leader of the guards approached her with his gun down, but ready to be brought up at a moment's notice which didn't make her nervous in the slightest.

"This area is off limits to civili-"

"Gary, I can't believe you! Cheating on me, your loving girlfriend of twenty years is one thing, but cheating on me with your coworker!? What does he have that I don't!?" Valeria screeched in the leader's face causing the man to be taken aback and share glances with his coworkers who shrugged helplessly.

"Uh...ma'am, I'm sorry your relationship isn't going well, but this area is off limits to civilians," the leader reiterated causing Valeria to fake pout and tightly clenched her fists for show before sighing softly.

"Fine, we'll talk about this when you get home and-"

Valeria ended her asinine speech as she, far faster than any of the security guards could perceive, surged forward and grasped the leader's rifle before yanking it down causing the man to uncontrollably stagger forward which gave her the opportunity to smash her forehead into his skull. The leader howled in pain and collapsed on his back while clutching his head as the Atlantean ripped the rifle in two and flung the two destroyed parts of the rifle at the security guards at her side. The two guards yelped and crumpled to the ground while moaning in agonizing pain as they clutched their wounded crotches and before the two security guards blocking the door could process what happened, Valeria rushed forward while unfurling her tail.

Twisting her hips, Valeria smacked one of the security guards across the face with her tail which caused him to scream and crash into his partner like a cannonball where they both collided against the wall making a small, spider web crack in the concrete. Collapsing in a heap, they both groaned in pain causing Valeria to look over her work, purse her lips, and nod before taking away a key card from "Gary" who was squirming on his back.

"It's okay, Gary. If he makes you happy, then you should follow your heart," Valeria sweetly told the security guard whose response was to groan miserably causing the Atlantean to place the card in the slot which opened the door leaving many workers confused as they saw her and not the security guards standing in front of the door.

"I have a rough idea of where to go, but it never hurts to ask for directions," Valeria stated as she put her hands behind her head and waltzed into the lab like she owned the place before manipulating the water in her blood which caused large, sharp spikes of iron and bone to jut out of various places of her body.

Upon seeing this display, the scientists and technicians screamed in terror and ran as fast as their legs could carry them, but one scientist wasn't fast enough as Valeria once again unfurled her tail and snagged the fleeing woman's wrist causing her to screech as she was hoisted into the air.

"Hiya! Could you please tell me where I could find one of these motherboxes?" Valeria politely requested causing the scientist to muster what courage she had left and narrow her eyes at the Atlantean who happily grinned without a care in the world.

"A-and what if I don't?" the scientist barked defiantly which didn't abate Valeria's smile in the slightest as she began shaking the woman up and down like an irresponsible child would do with a fish in a plastic bag.

"Care to tell me now?" Valeria inquired after shaking the woman for a few more seconds before stopping causing the woman to hand the Atlantean a key card which made the dark skinned woman gently set the scientist down on the floor.

"Go down the hall, make a left, make another left, and then turn right. The key card will get you in," the scientist responded while dashing over to a trash bin and vomiting the contents of her lunch while the Atlantean made sure to go over the directions a few times before glancing at the scientist who was now laying down on the floor.

"Thank you so much!" Valeria gratefully told the scientist whose response was to groan and turn on her side as the Atlantean proceeded to walk down the hall while being in awe at the various amount of technology around the lab.

" _Ooh, I wonder what else they have here? This is going to be so much fun!"_ Valeria excitedly thought to herself like a giddy schoolgirl while launching a spike from her forearm that pierced through the lense of a security camera causing the device to spark and sputter before going dark.


	2. Chapter 2 Beyond the Horizon

Ch.2

Beyond the Horizon

 _Injustice 2 and DC Comics are the property of their respective owners, Ocs belong to me_

" _We are to give service!"_

Clenching her fists so tightly that blood dropped onto the cold as ice chains that bound her to the wall of her cell, Diana snarled and smashed her fist against the wall causing the room to shake and a spray of dust to fall on top of her.

" _Help the innocent!"_

Trembling, the former Princess of Themyscira angrily brushed off the dust and tucked her legs close to her chest and looked down at her toes which had begun to collect dirt and grime.

" _Save the lives of friend and foe!"_

Tightly gripping the worn out robes that she was adorned with, the former right hand of the Regime picked her head up and glanced at the openings in the door that let the sunlight in causing her to reach out to it. As expected, the chain binding her wrist held firm and prevented her from fully extending her arm causing the former hero known as Wonder Woman to curse under her breathe.

" _Slaughter the innocent? As Zeus fooled Hippolyta, Superman beguiles you!"_

Gnashing her teeth together so tightly that they threatened to break, Diana calmed herself to an extent and glared at the opening in the door that boxed her in like a caged animal. It was bad enough the pretender had to lecture her, but it was even worse to admit...she had a point. Sure, she was in favor of completely destroying Metropolis and Gotham at the time, but now she realized the decision was complete folly. If they had succeeded in destroying the two cities, all they would have accomplished is giving the Insurgency even more members and pushed what supporters they had to the Insurgency's side.

If... _when_ she became a ruler again along with Kal, then she would still set an example, but not to the extreme she was once in favor of. Rounding up and publicly executing any dissenters, destroying some non-essential buildings, and sending in an occupying force to keep the population in line would suffice. It would send a clear message of what the price of rebellion was and wouldn't cause as many people to join the resistance as sacking two cities would, but Kal seducing her? Humorlessly chuckling, the disgraced princess shook her head; Kal always had the mindset of a true warrior within him even before becoming the High Councilor and all she did was encourage him to build upon those traits.

" _I'm disappointed, Demetria, but I understand you have to do what's best for your family."_

" _Thank you, Princess. Know that whether it takes days, weeks, months, or even years, I will come back for you; you have my word."_

Sighing softly, Diana of Themyscira spared a glance at the strong chains that restrained and just to experiment, tugged on them with all her might causing beads of sweat to pour down her brow and her muscles to strain. After a moment, the disgraced princess ceased her struggle as the chains didn't yield in the face of the strain, but the princess noticed something on the chains; a small, insignificant crack on the end of the chain that connected it to the wall. Letting a smirk grace her lips, Diana of Themyscira got herself into a push-up position and began going through the motions of the exercise while keeping a lookout for any guards that might see her.

If Demetria did end up coming back and rescuing her, then fine; it meant that she had a strong, loyal ally on her side which was in short supply for her these days. However, if she managed to break herself out, then that was even better; it would be a testament to her strength that not even the Gods could stop her, so how could mere men?

* * *

"I got your alert, Barbara. What's the problem?" the dark knight asked his long time friend and colleague over the comms causing a video of an Atlantean with gills on the side of her neck taking out the security guards in front of S.T.A.R. Labs before walking in like it was her house.

" _It's mystery woman here, Bruce. I hacked into the records of the Regime kept of its members and from what it says, she's the wife of one of Diana's lieutenants in Themyscira's Home Guard which in reality was an extension of the Regime meant to keep the Amazons in line. Now, said wife is trying to get her hands on a Mother Box, no doubt trying to help her spouse rescue Wonder Woman and restart the Regime,"_ Batgirl responded calmly, but Batman detected a sense of urgency in her tone causing the dark knight to narrow his eyes and put the Batwing on autopilot while examining the video of the break in.

"That's not going to happen, Barbara. Is there anything else we know about her?" the dark knight inquired causing a round of furious typing on the other line of the comms before Batgirl released a heavy sigh.

" _Sorry Bruce, but no. Beyond the records of the Regime, the surveillance footage, me being unable to access the Atlantean Archives, and the fact that Themyscira isn't exactly prudent with sharing information with the outside world, this is all we've got on her,"_ Batgirl replied with a slight grumble causing the dark knight's expression to not even waver as grasped the the control yokes of the Batwing.

"Then we'll work with what we have. Rendezvous with Firestorm and Blue Beetle and then meet up with us at S.T.A.R Labs," the caped crusader stated causing Barbara to voice her affirmative as he shut off communication with Batgirl and switched the frequency to contact his other allies.

"Palmer, Choi, I need an update on the situation," Batman ordered as he suddenly heard the sound of pained screams and a deafening explosion on the other line causing the dark knight to tighten his grip on the wheel and hastened his pace.

" _Batman, it's chaos here! Ryan and I managed to evacuate the workers, but the intruder is setting off explosions using the water in the pipes and taking out any cameras she comes across so we can't get a fix on her location! She could be anywhere in the facility!"_ Atom exclaimed as another explosion could be heard causing the dark knight to glance to the side and saw smoke wafting from the side of the building off in the distance which made Batman to punch in the coordinates to the lab.

"The intruder is trying to acquire a Mother Box so head over to R and D with security and reinforce it. I'll rendezvous with you and Ryan shortly," the dark knight demanded causing the Atom to voice his affirmative before shutting off his comm as the Batwing flew above S.T.A.R Labs and ejected the dark knight from the cockpit.

Spreading his cape, the dark knight slowed his descent and crashed through a window sending shards of glass flying everywhere before landing on the ground with a loud thud with one hand and knee on the ground. Rising to his feet, Batman took in his surroundings and saw various security guards lying unconscious on the ground with their rifles broken beyond repair while part of the lab was mostly untouched save for giant holes in the wall that were no doubt caused by the explosions Atom mentioned.

Pressing a button the side of his cowl, the protective lenses over his eyes started glowing blue causing him to meticulously examine his environment where he saw the residual heat signatures of the intruder's hand and feet prints which lead to the hole in the wall. Pressing some buttons on his gauntlet, the dark knight entered a code that made his cowl pick up any more heat signatures of the intruder causing Batman to trudge down the hall while keeping a sharp lookout for anymore threats.

* * *

Smiling, Valeria put her hand on the wall and concentrated causing the water to rapidly expand and erupt violently causing the building to shake uncontrollably while the guards attempting to arrest her screamed as they were blown to the side and buried underneath rubble or sprayed with searing hot water that burned their flesh as easily as fire would. Pursing her lips, the Atlantean moved the rubble off of the security guards which were trapped underneath it and set the debris off to the side while summoning forth the water lying on the floor. With a gesture of her hand, the water hovered over to the guards and covered their burn marks like a bandage where it began to heal their burnt flesh before the Atlantean stopped and went on her way.

It was killing two birds with one stone; the Atlantean made sure they'd only need a some time to recuperate in the hospital and when they woke up, they would be too injured to interfere with her mission. Pressing herself against the wall, the Atlantean shimmied to the side and peeked around the corner where she saw what she assumed to be the majority of the guards blocking the entrance to R and D in strategically placed positions while small squads were sent out to look for her.

" _Alrighty then, from the looks of things, they broke off small squads to look to for me while keeping the bulk of their forces near R and D to dissuade a frontal assault. Time to be subtly direct,"_ Valeria thought to herself as she saw a perfectly good doughnut still in a bag lying in a trash bin causing her to pick up the bag and take the doughnut out of it where she gobbled it down before wiping her lips with her forearm.

Peeking around the corner once again, she saw three guards approaching causing her to crouch down and wait for the guards to get into range. Just as they were about to turn the corner, Valeria lunged at the nearest security guard and wrapped her arms around her waist where she used the poor woman as a battering ram and slammed her into her colleagues which pinned them against the now cracked wall. Violently wheezing as if they were hit by a runaway train, the guards dropped their rifles causing Valeria to snap the guns in two with her tail before throwing the woman to the side like a rag doll while letting her cohorts slump down the wall where they lie still.

Groaning, the bruised, but still conscious woman clutched her side and got onto her knees where she saw Valeria with her hands behind her head while staring at her with an expectant look on her face. Glaring at the Atlantean, the security guard took out her walkie talkie and pressed the button the side of the device all while Valeria did nothing to stop her; in fact, she just smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"The intruder's in the right hallway leading to R and D!" the guard shouted into the device causing Valeria to waltz over to the woman with the grin still on her face while the security guard was helpless to do anything about it as she glared at the Atlantean.

"Thank you," Valeria politely told the woman before smacking her across the face with her tail which made the woman's head snap to the side with a pained yelp and sent her crashing to the cold, hard floor with a brutal thud.

Seeing that the guard's chest rising and falling, the Atlantean was about to go on her way when she heard a loud chorus of footsteps approaching her causing the Atlantean put her hands on the wall and concentrated. Seeing the bulk of the guards approaching her from the front and behind in order to box her in, Valeria winked at the guards just as they lifted their rifles up causing a series of explosions along the wall that sent chunks of rubble and a spray of boiling water to fly erratically in all directions. Listening to the carnage she wrought with a blank face, the Atlantean waited until she heard the last guard fell onto the floor before putting her hands behind her head and stepped over the guards...only to groan as she groggily leaned to the side like a drunkard.

Putting her hand on the wall before she could fall on the floor, the Atlantean took a deep breathe in and let it back out before wiping the sweat from her brow and stretching her body. Putting her hands behind her head, Valeria proceeded toward her objective while looking down at the floor and pursing her lips.

" _Seems like I need to work on that technique more so it doesn't drain me as much to use it. For now though..."_ Valeria trailed off as she examined the spikes still jutting out of her body and clenched her fist a few times before resuming walking down the hall towards R and D where she finally came across the door and took out the keycard in her armored wetsuit.

Sliding the keycard down the slot, the device blinked red and the door keeping her from her objective remained shut causing Valeria to rub the back of her head and take a step back. Releasing a shout, the Atlantean reared her arm back and punched the door as hard as she could causing a loud bang and creating a fist sized dent in the door, but other than that the entry point remained resolute as a castle gate.

"I guess that's to be expected; let's try this," Valeria muttered as the tattoos on her arms and tail started glowing causing her to bulk up and her height to grow from 5'9 to 6'5 along with her flesh growing denser making the Atlantean release a breathe.

Grunting, Valeria slugged the floor in front of her which caused chunks of debris to burst apart like deadly shrapnel and careen in all directions causing a plume of dust to cover her which Valeria didn't mind as she made no move to cover her eyes or shield her face with her forearm. When the dust settled, Valeria picked her ear and sniffed her finger before walking forward where she grinned as she saw a massive hole in the floor created by her punch. Jumping into the hole, the Atlantean walked forward until she reached the wall causing her to experimentally press her hands against different segments of the structure until she found the sweet spot.

Taking a step back, Valeria yelled and slammed her fist into the rocky wall causing it and the ceiling in above of her to violently collapse as if it was being sucked into a sink hole. The security guards keeping a lookout for her on the other side of the door tumbled down into the hole where they were buried underneath the wreckage which cacophony of agonizing wails and pained screams. Seeing the guards squirming underneath the rubble, Valeria moved the rubble off of the guard's chests so the wreckage wouldn't compress it...and promptly set the debris on top of their leg so they would remain immobilized. The guards let out pained curses which Valeria ignored as she lept upward in the opening she created and what she saw caused her jaw to drop.

An entire ensemble of experimental technology just lying around along with blueprints for other tech that had yet to be invented on the computers caused Valeria's eyes to beam like a child getting their favorite present before putting her hands behind her head and grinning.

" _Oh man, I wish I could take all of this with me, but taking a Mother Box will be exciting enough. Speaking of which,"_ Valeria noted as she saw her prize in a container causing her to rub her hands together and place her palms on the container where she ascertained brute force wouldn't be enough to acquire the device.

Closing her eyes, the Atlantean decreased the speed of her blood flow causing a light blue mist to encase itself around her body which caused part the container to freeze over like a lake in the winter before Valeria increased the speed of her blood flow causing a violent, red aura to surround itself around her body which caused the container to burn like a tree in a wildfire. Getting her blood flow back to normal, the Atlantean ripped the now weakened container in two before picking up the Mother Box where she suddenly felt a calm, but overwhelming energy emanating from the box that made her arms go numb. As if sensing her distress, the device blinked which caused the energy from the living computer to ebb which made Valeria regain feeling in her arms causing her to smile.

"So, are you actually alive? Blink three times for yes and blink once for no," Valeria requested politely causing the living computer to blink three times making the Atlantean to utter an ooh like someone seeing an amazing trick for the first time.

"You _are_ alive!? I thought the living computer was just metaphor; anywho, since I don't want to kidnap you, I'll ask if you want to come with me. Blink thrice for yes-" Valeria started only for the living computer to rapidly blink three times causing Valeria to grin and hold the motherbox up like a child.

"Cool! Before we leave, I'm going to scrounge around for any tech that might be useful so-" Valeria began only for the Mother Box to blink which caused Boom Tubes to open underneath any and all tech or blueprints around S.T.A.R. Labs that the living computer knew the Atlantean would find useful.

Storing all the items into itself, the Mother Box blinked causing Valeria to close her agape jaw before hugging the cube close to her chest causing the living computer to glow pink as the Atlantean continued to snuggle her.

"You're awesome! I don't suppose you could open up another one of those Boom Tubes so I can get back to my family?" Valeria inquired causing the Mother Box to blink once making the Atlantean sigh softly before shrugging as she carefully stepped around the debris before jumping back into the hole she made.

"Oh well, they probably have some sort of tech here that interferes with long range teleportation, huh?" the Atlantean surmised causing the living computer to blink three times making Valerira purse her lips as she stepped over the body of an unconscious security guard before glancing at motherbox again.

"When we leave the facility, will you be able to teleport me to my family?" Valeria inquired causing Mother Box to blink three times which made the Atlantean sigh in relief and hold the cube close to her before she stopped in her tracks when she heard footsteps approaching her from behind.

"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere and you're returning that Mother Box to us," a voice ordered in a surprisingly civil tone causing the Atlantean to raise a brow and lazily turn around where she saw a man wearing a red and white suit with the atomic symbol on his forehead.

"My apologies, but I have too much going on right now to waste my time being imprisoned and from the way you're speaking, you're making it sound like you own Mother Box," Valeria retorted causing the living computer's light to turn a shade of dark, volcanic red and furiously blinked three times causing the Atom's expression to remain blank as he saw a microscopic Ray Palmer discreetly jumping toward the Atlantean.

" _Keep her talking, Ryan. I'll have her out like a light in no time,"_ Palmer advised his protegee over the comms causing Ryan to subtly nod and take a step forward which made Valeria stare at him with a wooden gaze.

"That's not the case, and I still can't let someone affiliated with the Regime walk out of here with a powerful device like that. Tell you what, if you turn yourself in now, I'll put in a good word with the authorities to reduce your jail sentence," Choi offered causing the Atlantean to tilt her head before smiling warmly and chuckling under her breathe before the Atom heard the microphone in his ear come to life.

" _Batman, Ryan, I'm in position. Whenever you're ready,"_ Palmer informed his allies causing Ryan to nod once more as Valeria finished laughing before staring at the Atom with raised brow and grin tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I appreciate the offer, I do, but I'm going to have to say no," Valeria politely rejected Choi's offer causing Ryan to purse his lips while Batman stepped out of the shadows and walked right up to the Atlantean who glanced at him with the grin still on her lips.

"I thought you'd say something like that so how about you listen to that voice in your head?" Ryan suggested causing the Atlantean to tilt her head before she heard something like an echo in the back of her skull trying to get her attention.

" _Hey, can you hear me?"_ Palmer inquired within the confines of Valeria's head causing the Atlantean to smile incredulously and raise a brow before putting a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, I can hear you. How long have you been in there?" Valeria asked bemusedly while clutching Mother Box closer to her as she vaguely heard Palmer let out his own laugh before settling down.

" _Long enough,"_ Palmer replied causing the Atlantean to nod her head with the grin on her face not going away as the dark knight stepped closer to her and glowered at Valeria who continued to smile.

"This is your final warning; return the Mother Box now or Atom will do more than just knock you out," Batman threatened in an icy cold tone of voice which made Valeria's lips quiver making Ryan raise a brow as suddenly, the Atlantean collapsed on her belly and started bawling like a toddler throwing a tantrum complete with flailing her legs and banging her fist on the floor.

"You're all so mean threatening to hurt me! Do you do this to everyone you fight!?" Valeria whined as tears streamed down her face like a waterfall causing Ryan to incredulously watch the display in front of him with wide eyes while Batman himself couldn't help but raise a brow at what he was seeing.

Suddenly, Valeria stopped and calmly stood up where she wiped away her tears with her forearm before smiling at both Batman and the Atom II making the dark knight narrow his eyes while Ryan tensed his muscles.

"Sorry, I do that to relieve stress so I don't make any stupid decisions in the heat of the moment. Anywho, you think that just because you've got a little man in my head you've got me beat, huh? Heh heh...you must think I'm an amateur," Valeria uttered in a tone barely above a whisper as her sweet, sunny smile never left her face as she released a breathe causing a bloody red aura to coat itself around her body.

Hearing an agonizing, pained wail from Ray Palmer, both Ryan and Batman frantically tried to get into the comms with their ally as Valeria's bloody red aura turned a darker shade causing Palmer to release another howl of pain.

" _Batman, Ryan, I'm burning alive in here!"_ Palmer wailed as he jumped out of Valeria's ears and crashed to the floor with a bone crunching thud where he returned to normal size and curled himself into a ball as some parts of his body were charred a nasty, pitch black.

"Professor Palmer!" Ryan shouted as he and Batman rushed over to his side and knelt down next to him with the dark knight quickly tending to his wounds with what he had on hand while Valeria sighed heavily before coiling her tail around her waist.

"Sorry, but I couldn't afford to hold back considering what you were threatening to do to me," Valeria apologized while lifting the residual water around the area and applying it on the burn marks on Ray like a bandage which healed him enough so he wouldn't have to go to ER, but not enough that he wouldn't be able to avoid hospitalization.

Turning around, the Atlantean began walking away while casting a backwards wave at the three men as Ray sat up with a pained groan and grasped his scorched forearm before looking at the two of them with gritted teeth.

"I'll be fine, just make sure she doesn't leave with that Mother Box!" Ray breathed out between his teeth causing Batman to break out into a sprint and pursue the Atlantean while Ryan looked back at his mentor who nodded before gesturing at Valeria.

Nodding, Atom II followed the dark knight who pressed a button the side of his cowl which brought up communications with Batgirl.

"Barbara, send-"

" _Firestorm, Blue Beetle, and I are already on our way; just keep her busy until we get there. A situation like this makes me wish we still had Dinah and Ollie with us,"_ Barbara interrupted causing Batman to say nothing as he unclipped a multitude of Batarangs from his belt and grasped them between his fingers before flinging them at the Atlantean.

"It can't be helped, Batgirl. Just get here as soon as possible," Batman gruffly responded causing Batgirl to voice her affirmative as the Batarangs almost hit their target until Mother Box blinked which made a dome of energy cover Valeria causing the projectiles to harmlessly bounce off the shield and either clatter to the floor or embed themselves in the wall.

Sighing, Valeria stopped in her tracks and turned to face her two persuers with a hand on her hip and her tail lazily swishing back and forth like a pendulum while Mother Box's light turned a bright, searing hot red.

"Can you guys, like...stop? I know you had good reasons to take down the Regime, but you caused my wife to lose her job, status, and dignity which made her already shitty self-esteem to hit an all time low and my kid can't see her friends back on Themyscira leaving my wife and I as her only friends," Valeria bluntly addressed her persuers causing the dark knight to remain expressionless while subtly reaching for a gadget on his utility belt while Atom II raised a brow.

"Why take your child with you? She would have been considered innocent by the Amazon's Queen and thus entitled to protection so by bringing her with you, you and your wife arguably put her in more danger," Choi argued causing the Atlantean to release a heavy breathe and shift Mother Box underneath her other arm while putting her hand behind her head.

"You'd think so, but the sheer amount of Amazons who despise the Regime and by proxy my wife, far outnumber any sympathizers of citizens within the Regime. So if we did leave her behind, that would just leave her at the mercy of the Amazons who want to see my wife drawn and quartered and my kid is the closest thing they're going to get," Valeria countered causing Ryan to open his mouth to say something before closing when he couldn't come up with a response as Batman stepped forward causing the Atlantean to raise a brow.

"You have my word that your daughter will be sent to a good home; just turn yourself in and return what you stole," Batman offered while extending his hand toward Valeria who couldn't help but let a smile tug at the corner of her lips before shaking her head making the caped crusader retract his hand.

"I'm flattered by the offer, but that would leave no one for my wife to lean on when she needs it and my child alone in a world which will scorn her for things she has no control over. I'm not going to let either happen; Mother Box, can you blow up this entire building while leaving us, the people inside the building, and the people outside relatively unharmed?" Valeria inquired causing the living computer to blink three times just as Firestorm, Blue Beetle, and Batgirl arrived on the scene and surrounded the Atlantean.

"Do it," Valeria requested causing the living computer to encase the Atlantean, Batman, his allies save for Firestorm and Blue Beetle, the security guards, and the building itself within protective domes of energy before she started shaking and glowing a bright, ethereal white.

Going critical, the living computer released all the volatile, stored energy causing a blinding explosion of white light that shook the very foundation of the building and the street adjacent as curious onlookers widened their eyes in shock as they thought a star was going supernova in front of them while law enforcement tried to keep the crowd back. When the light began to ebb, all everyone could see was a pile of rubble causing everyone to gasp and whisper to each other before a segment of debris started shaking. Grunting, Valeria tossed the wreckage off of her while carefully cradling the living computer underneath her arm before dusting herself off and stretching her body before coiling her tail around her waist.

"That was an interesting experience, but we better get going," Valeria stated while stretching her back and examining the area around her as she saw Mother Box kept her word as only the building was destroyed and saw the heroes helping shove the debris off themselves, their allies, and the security guards.

Valeria nodded in approval when she saw that in spite of their bodies being marred with nasty gashes that leaked blood onto the concrete like a river, deep cuts that seemed to expose the muscle underneath the skin, and brutal abrasions that peeled part of their skin right off, they persisted in helping anyone they could. Doing a once over herself, the Atlantean saw she didn't escape the blast unscathed as a whole assortment of superficial cuts, light bruises, and shallow abrasions covered her body which made the woman purse her lips before shrugging as the living computer opened a Boom Tube for her. Just as Valeria was about to step through the portal, her instincts suddenly screamed at her to dodge, but Mother Box quickly erected a protective barrier around Valeria which deflected a batarang and sent it careening into the sky where it exploded violently sending shockwaves throughout the area and then blocked a powerful, destructive blast of scorching hot fire which lashed furiously at the barrier like whips.

However, the living computer wasn't expecting the fire to suddenly encompass the area around Valeria like a ring causing the Atlantean's cheery smile to never leave her face as she glanced at the living computer and nodded. Hesitantly, the living computer blinked three times and dissipated the shield leaving the Atlantean exposed to the searing hot, unforgivable flames making the Atlantean's vision blur, her breathing to become labored, and sweat to pour down her brow like heavy rainfall. Nevertheless, Valeria remained upright all while keeping a wide, cheery grin on her face as Batgirl, Firestorm, Blue Beetle, and Batman himself surrounded her with a batarang at the ready.

"What were you planning to do with the Mother Box if you got away?" Batman demanded as Firestorm applied more scorching flames to the area around the Atlantean who released a labored breathe causing the living computer's light to turn blue and blink.

Closing her eyes, the Atlantean let out another strained exhale before looking at the dark knight dead in the eyes...and shrugging like a person being asked a complicated question they couldn't answer.

"I don't know; beyond trying to get Mother Box to help me build new tech for my family, myself, and Atlantis, I haven't thought that far ahead," Valeria answered while rubbing her nose making all of the dark knight's gathered allies narrow their eyes while Batgirl stepped forward which made the Atlantean raise a brow.

"Do you know what kind of destruction the Regime caused? If you help you wife restore the Regime, you're going to put everyone in danger, your family and Atlantis included! Or have you forgotten when Superman killed Shazam or when the Regime dumped Atlantis into the Sahara!" Barbara nearly shouted at the Atlantean, but managed to keep a cool head making Valeria tilt her head.

"I haven't forgotten which is why I'm going to send tech to Atlantis to prevent something like that happening again, but you're right. You're essentially walking on eggshells when you're living in the Regime so I'll do my best to take of my family, but as for the consequences that follow my actions? I'll care about some while disregarding the others," Valeria admitted with a shrug causing Batgirl to be taken aback and incredulously stare at the Atlantean while Batman narrowed his eyes as Mother Box suddenly erected barriers around everyone present save for Firestorm and Blue Beetle before exploding yet again.

The living computer made sure that the barriers around the security guards and civilians were the strongest while directing all the energy forward instead of in all directions to prevent the Atlantean from being harmed while the barriers around the heroes remained standing for a few seconds before cracking from the pressure like glass which was intentional on the living computer's part. All the heroes present howled in agony as the energy overwhelmed them like a giant, deadly wave overtaking a building as Valeria was knocked onto her back from the force of the blast causing her to grunt. Shrugging, the Atlantean shielded her eyes from the blinding light while the living computer took advantage of the fact that everyone was reeling by opening a Boom Tube underneath Valeria.

"Bye, see you guys again!" the Atlantean jovially told the heroes while giving a two finger salute as she fell into the portal causing Blue Beetle, whose scarab managed to protect him from the blinding light and powerful explosion, to rush forward and attempt to grasp her wrist only for the portal to close just as he reached her.

Pounding his fist against the ground, Jaime pulled himself to his feet as the blinding light ebbed away leaving the gathered heroes alone with one another on the street that once led to S.T.A.R Labs as Batman ignored the pain wracking his body and climbed to his feet. Seeing Ryan helping Professor Palmer walk while Blue Beetle and Firestorm occupied themselves by helping the security guards, the dark knight walked over to Batgirl who ripped off a part of her cape and wrapped it around a gnarly gash on her forearm.

"We're heading to the Fortress of Solitude to get Wonder Girl out; Hippolyta trusts her so she'll need to warn her that someone might be making a move to break Diana out of prison. Barbara, stay here and oversee construction of Brother Eye and be ready to lead Harley, Black Lightning, and Jay Garrick if anymore threats surface," Batman discreetly ordered causing Batgirl to nod as she took her grappling hook off of her belt and shot it upward were she allowed it to carry her while the dark knight called for the Batmobile to come to him by pressing a button on his gauntlet.

He expected the Regime to make attempts to gather their lost power, but mere months after it fell? He needed to prepare and make sure his contingency plans were still up to snuff.

 _Pov shift_

Narrowing her eyes and rubbing her chin, the Queen of the Amazons watched the chaos Valeria caused in Metropolis from the mirror that allowed her to see events from the outside world. Hippolyta knew how destructive Demetria could be, but her wife seemed to take it to a whole other level. Meticulously, the Queen of the Amazons wracked her brain for possible solutions to this problem before she heard someone approaching her causing her to pause in her thinking.

"Something wrong, my Queen?" the newcomer inquired causing Hippolyta to turn around and saw Alexa walking toward her with a book in hand as usual which made the monarch sigh softly and put a hand on her hip.

"It's Demetria's wife; it seems she's finally stepped onto the battlefield after remaining on the sidelines for so long," Hippolyta answered while gesturing at the mirror causing the Amazonian bookworm to examine the events the mirror showed before darkly narrowing her eyes and balling her hand into a fist before relaxing her hand.

"This is concerning; the inventions Valeria gave to Demetria made our lives hell while fighting the Home Guard and now, she has a Mother Box along with other technology from that lab which she could use-"

"Let's not think about that, sister. Now then, how goes it routing Artemis?" Hippolyta asked as more footsteps came toward her which made the Queen turn in order to face the newcomer and saw Persephone approaching her while hiding her scarred, milky white eye behind her hair.

"We're at a stalemate, my Queen. She's not gaining any ground against our forces, but we're not gaining any against hers which is why Antiope is requesting reinforcements," Persephone answered while putting a hand on her hip and letting her sickle rest on her shoulder causing the queen to groan irritably before rubbing her temple.

"Tell my sister she will get her aid, but also that I expect better results from her in the future," the queen ordered with a slight growl causing Persephone to dutifully nod before walking away as Hippolyta turned toward Alexa.

"Go to Diana's cell and learn as much as you can on her remaining lieutenants. Such knowledge may glean new strategies on how to beat them and I will be making a trip to Atlantis so I can request an audience with King Orin. I fear the Regime may be trying to rise again so I feel it would be in our best interests if both Kingdoms protect one another in times of crisis," Hippolyta demanded causing Alexa to respectfully bend the knee before walking toward Diana's cell as the Queen of the Amazons walked over to the marble railing and leaned against it while watching the sunset.


	3. Chapter 3 Into the Lion's Den

Ch.3

Into the Lion's Den

 _Injustice 2 and DC Comics are the property of their respective owners, Ocs belong to me_

"Ugh, why can't I just use my powers!?" Julia roared as she plunged her harpoon into the water where the fish she tried to stab managed to dash away mere moments before it would have impaled causing Demetria to grunt.

"Because you're perfectly capable of catching fish without them," Demetria calmly responded as she thrust her harpoon into the sea and managed to skewer three fish as Julia tried and failed yet again to catch any fish.

Yelling through gritted teeth, Julia threw the harpoon against the wall and trudged away with tears in her eyes causing the Amazon to sigh softly and gently pick up the discarded weapon before walking over to her daughter who was lying face down in her bed.

"Sweetie-"

"I can't do it mother, it's impossible," Julia interrupted causing Demetria to sit down on the edge of her daughter's bed where she lightly ruffled Julia's hair which made the girl groan and look up at the Amazon.

"Don't say that, sweetie. You can and I'll show you how," Demetria said causing the girl to grumble before getting out of bed and grabbing her harpoon out of her mother's hand as the Amazon led them to the railing.

"Okay, you see where the fish is swimming? Predict where it's going to be and time your thrust accordingly," Demetria advised her daughter causing Julia to nod before raising her harpoon and focusing on a fish absentmindedly swimming near the boat not knowing the imminent danger it was in.

Narrowing her eyes, Julia thrust her harpoon into the water and almost managed to skewer the fish, but the sea creature bolted away before the girl could reposition for another stab causing Julia to groan irritably.

"It's alright, sweetie. Just take a breathe and try again," Demetria encouraged while patting her daughter's shoulder causing Julia to take a deep breathe in and let it back out before lifting her harpoon once more.

After a moment of complete silence, Julia jabbed the harpoon into the water where it nearly managed to stab a fish, but it got away at the last moment causing the girl to throw her head back and punch a nearby wall.

"Calm down sweetie, you're getting better at this so don't give up," Demetria assured her daughter causing Julia to nod and raise her harpoon where she narrowed her eyes and focused on the closest fish within stabbing distance while the Amazon watched with bated breathe.

After what seemed like an eternity, Julia thrust the harpoon into the water and when she brought it back up, Demetria let a smile tug at the corner of her lips as she saw a fish wriggling around on the spear point of the harpoon.

"Mother, I got it just like you said!" Julia shouted ecstatically while practically bouncing on her toes as Demetria walked over to her daughter and affectionately ruffled her hair while putting the fish out of its misery.

"Good job, sweetie; now you have another chore that you can help your mom and I with," Demetria quipped causing Julia's smile to deflate and groan which made the Amazon bemusedly chuckle under her breathe before placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Joking aside, what did you learn besides spearfishing?" Demetria inquired which made Julia put a hand on her chin and stare down at the wooden planks as if they contained the answer to the question before looking up at her mother.

"I need to be patient, I can't give up on things so easily, and if I can do things without my powers, then I should," Julia answered causing Demetria to allow a smile to tug at the corner of her lip and proudly pat her daughter's head before gesturing at the pile of fish lying on the deck where they set them down on the table.

"Now all we have to do is wait for your mom-"

Demetria started only for a portal to open above her causing the Amazon to protectively place Julia behind her and raise her harpoon only to widen her eyes when Valeria suddenly crashed down on the deck looking worse for wear.

"Hey you two, give me a sec. Motherbox, could you please cloak our boat so the band of misfit toys can't find us?" Valeria requested while climbing to her feet and shifting the living computer in her other arm causing Motherbox to blink three times before coating the vessel in a strange, ethereal energy which Demetria assumed meant that they were undetectable.

"Ah, mom! What happened to you?" Julia cried out while running up to Valeria and inspecting the various bloody scrapes and bruises adorning the Atlantean's body which made Valeria chuckle softly and lightly ruffle her daughter's hair.

"Oh you know, I was just at ground zero at a couple of explosions," Valeria playfully quipped causing Julia's jaw to drop while Demetria narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips which made the Atlantean rub the back of head.

"It was the quickest way to end the fight and no one was seriously harmed so it was win-win," Valeria explained causing Demetria to snort and approach her wife which made the Atlantean squeak and place Motherbox like a shield.

"Please don't make a habit of doing that," Demetria admonished her wife before gently flicking Valeria's forehead and then pulling her in for a hug causing the Atlantean to smile and return the gesture.

"No promises, but I'll try. Anyway, I'll keep the introduction short since we need to get moving; Demetria, Julia, meet Motherbox. Motherbox, meet Demetria, my wife, and Julia, my daughter," Valeria stated causing the Amazon to politely nod while Julia amicably waved at the living computer who blinked in response as Demetria lifted the anchor while Julia ran over to the back of the ship and go the engine running.

"Where to next?" Valeria inquired as the Batplane, Blue Beetle, Firestorm, and a swarm of police sea vessels ventured near their position, but thanks to Motherbox's cloaking they passed right by them which made the Amazon mentally sigh in relief.

"Africa; it's high time the power of the Cheetah be used to help rather than harm my princess," Demetria responded causing Valeria to raise a brow as she gripped the steering wheel and pressed down on the pedal where she made sure not to go too fast just in case one of the police boats suddenly swerved into her path.

"Are you sure? From what I understand, Cheetah was cursed, not gifted with power by Pakhet," Valeria pointed out as they sped past a swarm of police boats who were none the wiser to their presence causing Demetria to lean against the wall with her arms folded.

"I don't intend to anger the Goddess of the Hunt, I just want to gain some rudimentary understanding of the magic she used on Cheetah. If things look like they're going south, I'll retreat and we'll be on our way, I promise," Demetria assured her wife who uncertainly grumbled causing the Amazon to wrap her arms around Valeria's waist which made the Atlantean lean into her touch and wrap her tail around their legs.

"...Alright, just please be careful," Valeria hesitantly conceded as the family sped off into the distance, leaving their pursuers befuddled as to where they might have gone unaware that they were right under their noses the whole time.

* * *

"I hope I don't have to use this," Alexa muttered as she gazed at the lasso of truth hanging on an altar along with the other divine tools and weaponry entrusted to the previous wielder before taking it off the mantle.

"You worry too much, Diana will be fine," Persephone assured her friend causing the bookworm to say nothing as she attached the divine item to her belt and began to walk out of the armory with the one eyed Amazon in tow.

"I guess, but I'm also concerned that my sister thinks I can't handle myself," Alexa replied while narrowing her eyes slightly at her friend causing Persephone to release a breathe and put a hand on her hip.

"Diana still has the blessings of the gods which means she's still dangerous, bound or not. I don't want to leave anyone alone in a cell with her, let alone you," Persephone replied which made Alexa grumble, but nod nonetheless as they exited the armory and bid the guards farewell where they walked toward the holding cells in complete silence.

However, something nagged at the back of Persephone's head; whenever she spared a glanced at the bookworm she saw a myriad of emotions like anger, sadness and fear...and she didn't know why. Suddenly, as if a light just went off in her head, something clicked in the one eyed Amazon's head and she silently prayed to herself that it wasn't true, but knowing Alexa, she feared she was right. Unable to let this slide, Persephone suddenly glowered at her friend which made the Alexa raise a brow.

"You still care for Diana?" Persephone accused with a far harsher snarl than she intended causing the bookworm to calmly stare back at her friend, but Persephone noted that Alexa was gripping her arm tightly.

"I do," Alexa answered causing the one eyed Amazon to ball her hand into a fist and while Persephone earnestly tried to remind herself that Alexa wasn't deserving of her anger in the slightest, she couldn't help it.

"Do you feel the same for Demetria?" Persephone snapped and immediately regretted it as it felt as if the temperature dropped to absolute zero as Alexa widened her eyes while the one eyed Amazon mentally chatised herself for her unwarranted outburst.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," Persephone apologized as Alexa clenched her fist so tightly that it turned a bony, chalky white and her lip quivered violently before she let out a breathe and folded her arms.

"It's fine, but please don't say something like that ever again," Alexa responded through gritted teeth as she faced forward for the rest of the walk to the holding cells with a hard, stony gaze while Persephone wisely decided to keep quiet.

When they reached the holding cells, they both saw two guards exiting the cell containing Diana with one rubbing her neck while her partner put her a hand on her shoulder causing Alexa and Persephone to glance at one another before approaching the sentries.

"What happened?" Alexa inquired causing the sentries to jolt and look in the direction of the voice where they gave curt, but polite nods to the duo as the leader cleared her throat and straightened her back.

"It's Diana of course; she made another escape attempt and choked Pandora with the chains that bound her," one of the guards answered while gesturing at Pandora who was still rubbing her neck causing Alexa to shake her head and pinch the bridge of her nose while Persephone snorted and put a hand on her hip.

"Told you," Persephone unconsciously quipped and fortunately, all Alexa did was give her the stink eye before taking a deep breathe in and letting it back out where she approached the door the two guards just exited.

"I'm going talk to Diana, Queen Hippolyta wants to know what she knows about her lieutenants," Alexa explained causing the leader of the guards to unlock the door after some hesitation while Persephone glared at the cell containing Diana with her eye briefly flashing crimson before it returned to its normal hue.

"Of course and you can always ask the bodyguard for Demetria's wife and daughter if you think it'd help," the leader stated causing Alexa to nod as she and Persephone were about to walk into the cell before the guard Diana choked put a hand on the bookworm's shoulder causing Alexa to glance at the guard.

"Feel free to wrap the lasso around her neck," Pandora told her causing Alexa's lip to angrily quiver for a brief moment before she simply brushed Pandora's hand off her shoulder and walked into the cell with Persephone in tow.

Upon entering the cell, the duo saw Diana sitting in a pile of hay hugging her legs close to her chest with some specks of dirt and grime adorning her body which caused Alexa to want to comfort the former princess while Persephone couldn't help but feel something akin to pity.

"Diana, it's me. Unfortunately, I didn't come here to talk; Artemis and her remaining forces still wage war against us and Antiope is having trouble putting them down so I was hoping you might be able to provide us some information about her," the bookworm inquired, yet Diana still refused to look up at Alexa causing the bookworm to sigh softly as she did hate seeing the former princess in such a state, but wisely kept her distance.

"Diana, you can talk to me. I'm your friend," Alexa pressed and it was that which finally caused Diana to look up and glower at the bookworm with a gaze that could kill many times over, but Alexa remained calm.

"Friend!? Would a friend have opposed everything my forces and I did on Themyscira!? Would a friend have defied my rule and the rule of the Regime!?" Diana spat with as much venom as she could muster and if Alexa wasn't out of reach, she would have done more than just stare furiously at her while the bookworm continued to keep calm.

"A good friend would have," was Alexa's answer causing Diana to sneer and rest her forehead against her legs once again which made Persephone gaze at Alexa and gesture at the lasso causing the bookworm to hold up a hand.

"Diana, please. As your friend, I'm asking that you give us the information you have on your lieutenants. I don't want to have to ask you as your warden," Alexa begged to which Diana childishly kicked pieces of rubble at the bookworm which made Alexa sigh heavily and shake her head before brandishing the lasso of truth.

"Very well; please lay down on your belly with your hands behind your back. If you don't cooperate, I'll summon Nubia or Orana to force you even though I'd rather not," Alexa declared causing Diana to sneer and back herself up against the wall with her muscles tensed and her fists raised causing Persephone's eye to flash red.

"You claim to be my friend yet you order for me to degrade myself, reveal information on my friends, and threaten me with violence if I don't comply? For someone so smart, you're unbelievably shortsighted," the former princess snarled which, to her dismay, didn't elicit a reaction out of Alexa as she continued to coolly stare at Diana who stubbornly stood her ground and lashed out whenever she thought the two Amazons got too close.

"Yet I'm not the one currently residing within a cell," Alexa responded which made Diana's bare her teeth and kick a fist sized rock at the Amazon's skull causing the bookworm to grimace as although a nasty gash opened on her forehead, she managed to remain on her feet.

Widening her eye, Persephone concernedly glanced at her friend who placed a hand on the bloody gash before the one eyed Amazon balled her hand into a fist and glared at Diana with a glowing, crimson eye. Readying herself, Diana could only widen her eyes as Persephone seemingly teleported in front of her and wrapped her arms around her neck before expertly tossing the former princess over her shouler and onto the ground face first. Grimacing, Diana attempted to turtle up only for Persephone to wrap her arms around her neck and sprawl on top of the former princess where she forced all of her weight down onto Diana.

"Put the lasso on her!" Persephone barked causing Alexa to nod and move toward the immobilized prisoner who continued to writhe underneath Persephone made all the more difficult because of her bound wrists and the one eyed Amazon's surprising strength.

"Now then, what can you tell us about Artemis?" Alexa ordered while wrapping the lariat around Diana's wrist causing the former princess to grit her teeth and attempt to roll onto her side, but Persephone refused to budge.

"That she's a true warrior unlike you and will stand her ground no matter what you throw at her, but that might just give you cowards a fighting chance," Diana spat as she forced her chin down and managed to get onto all fours which made Persephone grit her teeth as streams of sweat began pouring down her brow like a waterfall.

"What about Alexis and her daughter Berenice?" Alexa pressed as Persephone felt as if her muscles were going to rip apart at the seams as Diana was able to get herself into a kneeling position which made the one eyed Amazon resist the urge to knee Diana's exposed face.

"Alexis can only use her suit a few more times before the strain kills her so forcing her hand is your best bet and Berenice is a child prodigy, but still inexperienced so forcing her into a situation where she has no choice to bite off more than she can chew will allow you dogs to take her down," Diana roared as Alexa firmly grasped the former princess' arm and wrenched it behind her back before throwing Diana to the ground with Persephone sitting on the former princess' chest.

"What about Demetria?" Alexa demanded as she felt as if she was pushing a mountain and was only just able to keep Diana's arm pinned while Persephone felt as if she was Atlas holding the entire weight of the world on her shoulders as she was barely able to keep the former princess down.

"Demetria's greatest strength is her versatility, but she's prone to get caught up in the moment despite seeming calm. However, the funny thing is I don't have the slightest clue as to where she and her family might be at this moment," Diana triumphantly stated and despite struggling against Persephone's grip she still managed to shoot Alexa a wide, cocky smirk which made the bookworm glance at Persephone and nod.

Returning the gesture, Persephone released Diana and scrambled off her chest before the former princess could retaliate while Alexa uncoiled the lasso from Diana's wrist and attached it to her belt.

"Thank you for the information, Diana," Alexa gratefully told the former princess who sneered and sat back down on her pile of hay while Persephone rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms as she exited the cell with her friend.

"Well, we got useful information, but we still have no idea where Alexis, Berenice, and Demetria are," the one eyed Amazon stated while brushing some of her hair over her shoulder which made Alexa put a hand on her chin and stare down at the ground before her eyes lit up.

"Wait, the head guard did say they had Valeria and Julia's bodyguard in custody so it wouldn't hurt to see what she knows," Alexa responded to which the one eyed Amazon shrugged as they made their way to the bodyguard's cell where a guard unlocked the door causing the duo to step inside where they saw the prisoner fast asleep on a pile of hay.

Picking up a pebble, Persephone softly threw it at the prisoner's arm causing the former bodyguard to jolt and slowly sit up where she regarded the two Amazons with a confused, but civil stare.

"Hi...um...did I...do something wrong?" the prisoner asked while stretching her tall, muscular body to which Alexa shook her head and unclipped the lasso from her belt which made the prisoner sigh before holding out her wrist and allowing the Amazon to wrap it around her limb.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble, we'd just like to ask you some questions. For starters, what do you know about Diana's lieutenants in the Home Guard?" Alexa inquired causing the prisoner to raise a brow and tilt her head before shrugging which made Persephone roll her eye and lean against the wall with her arms folded.

"Um...is that a trick question? Barring Demetria, I don't really know that much about them besides the rumors I heard," the prisoner answered which made Alexa grunt before releasing a breathe and tightening her grip on the lasso while the prisoner patiently waited for her.

"You must know something given you were in close proximity to Demetria," Alexa pressed causing the prisoner to snort and narrow her piercing, predatory, green eyes at the bookworm before slowly leaning forward all while not taking her eyes off of Alexa.

"Well, this is just speculation, but you know how Alexis liked to use Wolf Men as her forces? Maybe she and her daughter are hiding with them," the prisoner guessed causing Alexa and Persephone to exchange wide, enlightening gazes with one another before the bookworm turned her attention back to the captive.

"And what of Valeria? Are there any weaknesses in the technology she makes that we can exploit, are there any projects that she was working on that you know how to recreate, do you know where she is as of this moment?" Alexa demanded to which the prisoner opened her mouth and began to speak only for her to claw at her throat causing the potential information the Amazons wanted to know to come out as ragged croaks.

Widening her eyes, Alexa could only stare at the prisoner and her now blood soaked hand before unfurling the lasso from the captive's wrist while even Persephone raised a brow at what she witnessed before she narrowed her eye.

"I'll get the healers to look at your wound and once they're done, we're continuing this interrogation with tighter restraints," Persephone growled before exiting the cell with Alexa following her which made the prisoner sigh and lay back down on her pile of hay with a hand on her throat as a sudden sound of a candle being lit caught her attention.

"That looks pretty bad, you want me to heal that for you?" the being that caused the sound asked to which the prisoner shook her head which made the figure grumble before sitting down next to the prisoner while swishing its five, fox like tails absentmindedly.

" _Very well; I don't know why you want to suffer in this squalor. You know that I can free you and take you to Valeria and her family,"_ the being pointed out telepathically with its ethereal, black eyes faintly glowing causing the prisoner to nod and sit up and despite towering over most other Amazons, she was dwarfed in size compared to the being.

" _Because if there's some new developments on Themyscira that could compromise Valeria and her family, then I can tell you and you can warn Valeria,"_ the prisoner explained to which the being grunted and cleaned off some of the grime adorning the captive's body with a quick application of magic.

" _A fair point, yet those Amazons seem adamant on prying the information you know on our friend from you so perhaps I should help. I can't prevent the lasso from forcing you to tell the truth, but I can prevent the wound on your throat from healing if you so wish,"_ the being offered to which the prisoner shook her head and hugged her legs close to her chest which made the figure tilt its head and raise a brow.

" _No thanks, if you did help the Amazons would just call upon their patron goddesses to aid them. I know you're powerful, but facing so many deities at once may be too taxing for you,"_ the prisoner replied causing the being to scoff indignantly and furrow its brow before taking a deep breathe in and letting it back.

" _A fair point; I guess I'll take my leave and visit you some other time,"_ the being stated as it bristled its fur and stretched its neck before sitting up and began to turn transparent until it suddenly stared at the prisoner.

" _I know it would only be small comfort, but would you like me to bring you some actual food instead of the slop they give you?"_ the being asked causing the prisoner to spare a glance at the half eaten tray of food that lay in the corner of her cell which made her unconsciously grip her gut which let out a loud groan causing the prisoner to eagerly nod.

" _Yes, and thank you Kumiho,"_ the prisoner told the fox which made Kumiho smile and pat her friend on the shoulder with one of her tails before disappearing from the room without any indication that she was even there.

Sighing heavily, the prisoner brushed some of her brown hair over her shoulders and laid down on her pile of hay with her hands behind her head while trying to enjoy the moments of peace she had left before the interrogation would resume.

* * *

Gently petting the head of the Megalodon that transported them to Atlantis, Hippolyta and General Penthesilea exited the air bubble and stepped onto the platform of the docks while the gigantic shark swam back to the borders of Themyscira. Immediately, the two Amazons were set upon by guards with shields, polearms, and arm cannons at the ready causing Hippolyta to calmly raise her hands while Penthesilea folded her arms.

"This already seems like a wasted journey, my queen. We should head back to Themyscira," Penethesilea recommended causing Hippolyta to snort and take a step forward which made the guards point their various weapons at the queen.

"My friend and I mean you no harm; I am-"

"We know who you are surface dweller, and we do not care. Whatever it is you wanted to talk to my King and Queen about is null and void," one guard whom Hippolyta assumed to be the leader scathingly interrupted her causing the queen to bite back a curse and merely let out a soft breathe before calmly glancing at the guard.

"That is not for you to decide; now would you please tell King Orin and Queen Mera that I'm asking for an audience with them?" Hippolyta requested to which the head guard sneered and motioned for his men to surround the two Amazons making Penthesilea narrow her eyes while letting her arms rest at her sides with her fists clenched.

"No, I will not waste my liege's time with whatever farce this is supposed to be so go back from where you came before we make you," the head guard threatened which made Hippolyta pinch the bridge of her nose while Penethesilea protectively stepped in front of Hippolyta with her muscles tensed.

"If you know who she is then you should be more respectful," Penethesilea said with a razor sharp edge to her tone which made the head guard derisively snort and level his arm cannon at the Amazon who prepared to bring her gauntlet up at a moment's notice.

"Surface dweller scum is surface dweller scum, even if they are Amazons," the head guard shot back causing the general to narrow her eyes while the leader inched his finger closer to the trigger before a chorus of footsteps caught everyone's attention.

"Greetings Queen Hippolyta. To what do we owe the unexpected pleasure?" a sudden voice asked which made the head guard wheel around and glare at the newcomer before he widened his eyes and bent the knee along with the other sentries.

"Greetings to you as well, Queen Mera. I've come to discuss some matters with you and your husband if you're willing to talk," Hippolyta answered to which made the Atlantean Queen raise a brow before gesturing for the Amazons to follow her leaving the disgruntled guards that had held them up to return to their duties.

"I heard what the guards we're saying and rest assured, they will be punished and learn to guard their tongues or else someone who isn't as calm will have them," Mera informed the duo which made Hippolyta nod gratefully while the Penethesilea smirked and put a hand on her hip as the Atlantean Queen led them down a corridor.

"Tearing out the guard's tongue who slighted us is very tempting," the general stated which made Mera bemusedly chuckle as she pushed open a giant set of doors revealing King Orin speaking with various key figures which helped keep Atlantis running.

"Arthur, Queen Hippolyta has come to talk," Mera announced which made the King of the Seas raise a brow before nodding and staring at the leaders whom he had invited and politely dismissed them.

Gesturing at two seats near the giant table he was sitting at, King Orin sat down at the head of the table with his wife at his side while Queen Hippolyta took a seat across from him while Penethesilea stood next to her queen with her arms folded.

"What brings you to our Kingdom, Hippolyta?" Orin inquired while never taking his eyes off of the seasoned warrior causing the queen to quickly go over what she had wanted to say in a split second before opening her mouth.

"I've come seeking two things; one, is an alliance as I fear that the Regime may be resurging and seeing as how our nations were brought to heel by them once, we can work together to prevent it from happening a second time," Hippolyta responded which made Orin tighten his grip on his trident and narrow his eyes before he felt Mera rest her hand atop his which made him release a breathe.

"And the second thing?" Orin questioned while leaning forward in his chair causing Hippolyta to steel herself before calmly clasping her hands together and staring at the sea king dead in the eye.

"Information on one of your citizens, Valeria of Atlantis," Hippolyta answered which made Orin grumble as he planted his trident on the ground and sat up straight where he regarded the queen with narrowed eyes.

"I know of whom you speak and we exiled her for being affiliated with the Regime, but she still aids us by sending us technology so unfortunately, I must deny your second request," King Orin stated which made Penethesilea tightly grasp her arm and bite back an obscene curse while Hippolyta managed to keep her cool.

"Orin, please see it from my people's perspective. To you, Valeria is an uneasy ally, but to us she is a war criminal who was supplied one of our major enemies with dangerous weaponry and technology. It would mean a lot to us if we can make her answer for what she's done and in exchange, I'll have my most skilled engineers teach your people how to make the invisible jets," Hippolyta offered which made the King of the Seas rub his chin and rap his fingers against his trident while Penethesilea wanted to protest, but kept her mouth shut.

"That is a very good offer, but still-"

"Arthur, Valeria will keep helping Atlantis even if we do give her enemies an advantage over her. That's just the kind of person she is," Mera calmly interrupted which made the hero once known as Aquaman to stare down at the ground and mull over this for a moment before sighing heavily and looking up at Hippolyta.

"Very well; I'll have my archivist share with you what knowledge we have on her and as added incentive I'll have my scientists give you schematics for our mobile assault vehicles. However, I must decline your proposal for an alliance; I have no interest in dragging Atlantis into surface world matters," Orin stated with a tone of finality which made Hippolyta resist the urge to furrow her brow as while she did get one thing she wanted and more, she certainly didn't want to break that deal by pushing her luck, but felt as if she had no choice.

"Orin, I understand where you're coming from and were I in your position, I might have submitted my nation to Regime control to keep my people safe as you did, but now we can make sure history doesn't repeat itself by banding together. Mera, if not your husband, surely you see the need to forge alliances outside of one's sphere of influence," Hippolyta asked and to her dismay, the sea queen solemnly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I support Arthur's stance on the matter. I do not wish for my people to shed blood in affairs that don't concern them and while an alliance would be beneficial, it's a luxury we can afford to live without," Mera responded causing Hippolyta to sigh heavily and nod begrudingly while Penthesilea wanted to shout a whole slur of curses at the monarchs across the table, but instead opted to ask one simple question.

"Then why help us at all if you want to stay out of surface world affairs?" Penethesilea inquired causing the sea king to narrow his eyes at the general while Hippolyta resisted the urge to slap a palm to her face and instead sent a disapproving gaze at her friend.

"I'm only helping so the Amazons and possibly the heroes of the surface world will be strong enough to not need Atlantean help," King Orin replied which made Penethesilea scream internally while outwardly just grunting in response as Hippolyta stood up from her chair and put her hands on her hips.

"I see; thank you for you time," Hippolyta amiably stated which made the sea king nod and press a button on the monitor on the table where he asked the archivist to get the information on Valeria ready while Mera stood up.

"Of course; Mera will show you the way to the Archives and know that while I despise your daughter, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you," King Orin told Hippolyta and for a very brief moment, Hippolyta's brow furrowed and she grit her teeth before she regained her composure and gave a simple, curt nod in response.

Following Mera to the archives, Hippolyta put a hand on her hip and hoped that Alexa and Persephone had some good news to tell her when she returned home.


	4. Chapter 4 Grit

Ch. 4

Grit

 _Injustice 2 and DC Comics are the property of their respective owners, Ocs belong to me_

" _ **You understand why we keep coming back, right? It's because you've done very horrible things, but worst of all you are aware of the fact, but do nothing to change it,"**_ one of the many apparitions of Demetria's victims chimed within her dream as all the Amazon could do was cover her head with tears streaming down her face like a waterfall.

"I know," Demetria whimpered as she stutter sobbed and breathed heavily as the ghost who had talked to her walked up to her and crouched down while placing a firm, but comforting hand on the Amazon's shoulder.

" _ **Then it's time to ask yourself why? Is it out of a misguided sense of loyalty? A rose tinted belief that no matter what the Regime does, they are ultimately making the world a better place?"**_ the shade asked in a soothing, distant tone as Demetria let out another sob and dipped her head onto the ground as the ghosts surrounding her got closer.

"N-no...I didn't...no," Demetria trailed off as she tried her hardest to wake up from this nightmare, but nothing was happening leaving her cut off with no way of escape.

" _ **Or is it because you fear what will happen to Valeria and Julia if you refuse?"**_ the shade surmised causing Demetria to widen her eyes and with reckless abandon tried to charge through the literal sea of bodies.

While she managed to knock down one, the other swarm of bodies dogpiled and grabbed her neck, waist, and limbs causing Demetria to bite and flail about in an attempt to break free to no avail.

"I WANT TO WAKE UP! I WANT TO WAKE UP!" Demetria wailed causing the shade to shake her head and tighten her grip on the Amazon's shoulder where she stared at Demetria dead in the eye.

" _ **I'm sorry sister, but not yet. We're just getting to the root of the matter,"**_ the shade replied causing Demetria to try to struggle against her captor's grip, but it was paltry compared to the 500,000 apparitions holding her in place.

"VALERIA! VALERIA, HELP ME! PLEASE!" Demetria shrieked at the top of her lungs causing the shade to glance at her fellow spirits for help in calming the Amazon down, but all they could do was offer an unsure shrug in response.

" _ **You're wife can't help you here, but there is nothing to worry about. We just want to make you see that while you are genuinely loyal to Diana and do care about her, you are afraid of what will happen to your family if you don't do her bidding,"**_ the shade informed Demetria causing the Amazon to shut her eyes and vigorously shake her head which made the spirit sigh softly.

" _ **Don't you see, sister? You don't have to worry about Diana or your family being in danger if you simply leave her and the other members of the Regime imprisoned. You can live out the rest of your life in peace and enjoy a happy, fulfilling life with your family like you always wanted,"**_ the shade reasoned which made Demetria shamefully look down at the ground and bow her head causing the spirit to pat the Amazon's back.

" _ **Please sister, if you free Diana, you're putting your family in the very danger you're trying to avoid,"**_ the shade continued which made tears flow down the Amazon's face like rain drops on a window as all Demetria could offer in response was a weak, barely noticeable nod.

"I know...but what if Diana gets out on her own? How will I be able to explain that I abandoned her to live with my family when I promised I would come back for her?" Demetria responded to which the shade was unable to provide a response as Demetria suddenly felt a warm, tight hug not from the spirit, but something else.

" _ **We'll talk again,"**_ the shade told the Amazon as she along with the other apparitions ebbed away causing Demetria to finally wake up where she found herself in Valeria's embrace with her face in the Atlantean's cleavage.

"Shh, it's okay," Valeria whispered as she held Demetria close to her while wrapping her tail around their waists.

"I'm here now, there's nothing to be afraid of," Valeria assured her partner while flashing a warm, confident grin which Demetria knew was her wife's way of saying that everything was going to be alright.

"If you say so," Demetria murmured as she snuggled closer to the Atlantean and released a cathartic breathe as Valeria gently ruffled her hair before resting her chin on top of the Amazon's head.

"Is it that same dream where you're surrounded by all the ghosts of your victims?" Valeria inquired causing Demetria to wordlessly nod and move closer to the Atlantean for protection which Valeria was more than happy to provide.

"I know you feel like you don't deserve it, but even you are allowed to enjoy life," the Atlantean advised her mate who said nothing as she heard the slow, rhythmic thud of her wife's heart and was about to close her eyes when they both heard knocking at their door.

"Um...mom, mother, could I come in?" Julia's muffled voice ventured from the other side of the wooden door which made Demetria sigh as she kept her face right in Valeria's cleavage.

"Of course, minnow. What's wrong?" Valeria responded as her daughter walked into the room and nervously twiddled her fingers while Demetria concernedly stared at Julia out of the corner of her eye.

"It's just...I had a nightmare and I was wondering if it would be okay if I slept with you guys tonight?" Julia requested which made Valeria nod and pat the open space next to her causing the girl to sigh in relief as she climbed into bed next to the Atlantean where Demetria placed an arm around her daughter.

"Looks like I have to look after two little girls tonight!" Valeria remarked which made Demetria grumble and give the Atlantean the stink eye while Julia raised a brow as she laid her head on Valeria's shoulder.

"Did something happen to mother?" Julia inquired which made the Atlantean's jovial expression ebb before solemnly nodding as Demetria trembled causing Valeria to coo and rub her partner's back.

"She had another nightmare so I'm taking care of her too," Valeria answered as she rubbed Demetria's back causing Julia to wrap her arm around the Amazon's waist and pulled Demetria closer to her.

"Don't worry, mother. Mom and I are here for you," Julia assured the Amazon who let a grin tug at the corner of her lips while Valeria just grinned at the display.

"Alright you two, try to get some sleep," Valeria ordered causing Demetria to slowly close her eyes and completely melt into the Atlantean's embrace as a thought suddenly came to her.

Sooner or later, Julia would figure out the whole truth of the Regime, Diana, the Home Guard, and her; not the censored, watered down version the Amazon felt she was forced to give her. When that day came...she would still love, defend, and support her daughter as best she could even though they would be on opposing sides. For now though, Demetria allowed herself to nod off and enjoy a nice, peaceful sleep in the arms of her family.

* * *

"Alright, bring her in, just be careful," Persephone ordered as six guards, two holding the prisoner by her arms, two jabbing the tips of their spears into her back, and two out in front led the captive into the healing temple.

"Oh, Alexa, Persephone, welcome. By the looks of things, I can see this isn't a social visit," the head healer stated as she along with two of her nurses approached the duo while the prisoner looked in the head healer's direction and immediately liked what she saw.

Like her, the nurses were seven feet tall or approaching that height along with having a muscular, slightly stocky build. A shame she was considered an enemy; the prisoner would have liked to have even just one of them keep her warm in her bed, but contented herself to letting an ever so slight grin tug at the corner of her lips as she continued to check them out.

"Yes, you see we were trying to glean information from her when she clawed at her own throat to withhold some important intel from us. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, we want you to heal her so we can resume the interrogation," Alexa requested causing the head healer to put a hand on her chin as she soaked all the information in while staring at the captive who continued to ogle the nurses.

"It's no trouble at all, sister. I'll have her healed in short order so you can go about your business," the head healer responded genially causing Alexa to nod before ordering the guards to bring the prisoner forward.

"Just say where you want her," Persephone informed the head healer who glanced at her assistants and ordered them to grab the captive while the guards uncertainly looked to the one eyed Amazon for orders.

"Are you sure your assistants can handler her?" Persephone asked causing the head healer to indignantly put a hand on her hip as the prisoner didn't kick up a fuss when the nurses hooked their arms underneath hers and led her toward a marble table.

"Do not worry; the temple is endowed with a blessing from Demeter so my nurses along with myself are far stronger than normal," the head healer assured the one eyed Amazon who grunted and folded her arms as she watched the prisoner like a hawk while Alexa ordered the guards to surround the table as an extra precaution.

"Does the temple also contain a blessing from Hermes because I won't feel comfortable until we're also far faster than normal," Persephone quipped which made Alexa shake her head while the head healer groaned before gesturing for the duo to wait at the table while she went to go retrieve the necessary medical supplies.

"You worry too much, sister; even if she gets past us, she still has Nubia and Orana to contend with whom we can alert in no time should the need arise," the head healer responded which made Persephone snort as the healer sat across from the prisoner where she set a bowl, bandages, a cup, and some herbs down on the table.

"Let's pray we get the chance to should worst come to worst," Persephone remarked causing Alexa to gently nudge her companion in the ribs with her elbow as the head healer went about crushing the herbs into a fine paste.

After she had finished, the head healer poured some of the mush into a cup and handed it to one of her assistants who feed it to the prisoner who gagged and furrowed her brow as the healer then dipped her fingers into the paste. Reaching her arm toward the prisoner, the head healer applied the paste onto the captive's neck before retracting her hand and repeating the prior steps. Cleaning her hands in a pool of pristine water, the healer than walked back to the table and applied a bandage on the prisoner's neck causing Persephone to wrap the lasso of truth around the captive's wrist.

"Now tell us; can you reproduce any of the devices Valeria built, do you know any weaknesses in her weapons that we can exploit, and do you know where she is as of this moment?" Persephone demanded causing the prisoner to sigh heavily as she would have brushed some of her brown hair back had it not been for the nurses keeping her restrained.

"For your first question, I cannot; inventing is Valeria's forte, not mine. As for your second question, the weapons will not harm their user or their allies so don't think about using them against the Home Guard holdouts," the prisoner answered begrudgingly, but politely causing Alexa to meticulously write down what the captive said in a little booklet for future reference while the one eyed Amazon snorted.

"Clever little weapons supplier, isn't she?" Persephone snarled causing the prisoner to tilt her head and stare at the duo as if they said something stupid which made the one eyed Amazon glare at the captive.

"Um...I'm sorry, but that's a misleading title you're wrongly attributing to Valeria. She is no weapons supplier, she merely gifted her inventions to her beloved so she could return to her safe and sound. It's not her fault Demetria decided to mass produce some of them or share the designs with Alexis," the prisoner argued causing Persephone along with some of the guards to glower at the captive with a gaze that could kill many times over while Alexa looked up from her booklet and narrowed her eyes.

"Unintentional or not, she still supplied two armies in the Home Guard with dangerous weaponry that killed a lot of good people so your loophole is as strong as Zeus's devotion to Hera," Persephone retorted with most of the guards vehemently nodding in agreement while Alexa put a calm, but firm hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Let's stay on topic, okay? Jade, is it? Would you please answer our last question?" Alexa requested causing the prisoner known as Jade to grumble, but nod nonetheless.

"Demetria would always talk about wanting to use the power of the Cheetah to help rather than harm Diana, but since her job required her to stay close to home it was nothing but a pipe dream. However, now that she's on the lam, it's most likely she's headed there now along with Valeria and Julia," Jade responded with a slight growl revealing razor sharp fangs that one would expect to see on a serpent as Alexa furiously wrote down the information while Persephone wordlessly unfurled the lasso from the Jade's wrist.

"Guards, take her back to her cell," Persephone ordered causing the soldiers to dutifully nod and carefully take Jade away from the nurses where they surrounded her in a box formation before leading her away.

"If Demetria and Valeria are heading to Africa, then we run the risk of bumping into not only Cheetah, but Gorilla Grodd as well. Also, there's the matter of tracking down the Wolf Men Alexis and Berenice are hiding among," Alexa stated as she put a hand on her chin and stared down at the ground lost in thought while Persephone leaned against a stone pillar with her arms folded.

"Then perhaps we should go after Demetria and Valeria first; as hard as they along with Cheetah and Gorilla Grodd will be to defeat, at least we know where they are. I'd rather not search for a needle in a haystack as is the saying in regards to Alexis and Berenice," Persephone suggested causing Alexa to grumble, but nod as they both thanked the head healer before exiting the healing temple.

"I suppose you're right; Penethesilea, Nubia, and Orana should head after Demetria and Valeria while we pursue Alexis and Berenice. You'll have to take on Alexis since she can give any of the Regime's heavy hitters trouble when her armor is active while I'll handle Berenice," Alexa responded which made the one eyed Amazon raise a brow as they greeted any of their sisters along the way to Persephone's home.

"Why me? I'm not exactly Wonder Woman material like Nubia and Orana," Persephone inquired while putting a hand on her hip as the bookworm sighed softly and shook her head.

"Sister, you were able to match Diana's strength even if it was just barely and I imagine that red glow in your eye had something to do with it," the bookworm answered causing the one eyed Amazon to pause and stare at Alexa with her eye wide while the bookworm put a hand on her hip and looked back at her friend with a smirk.

"You saw? Wait, y-you can't tell Hippolyta-"

"I won't, you can tell her when you're ready. A bit of advice though, tell her while we're in peacetime and not when we're at war. None of us will judge you harshly, but I can't say the same for Antiope," Alexa advised her friend who said nothing, but nodded as they entered Persephone's home where they saw the one eyed Amazon's daughter reading a book on Ares and Athena's role in the Trojan War.

"Hi mom, hi auntie; how was work?" Persephone's daughter asked as she gave a hug to her mom and her aunt who returned the gesture as the one eyed Amazon slumped down in a nearby chair and released a heavy sigh.

"Exhausting; Antiope is an idiot who can't dislodge some fragmented counter revolutionaries, our interrogation took far longer than it should have, and two members of the Home Guard are in Africa with one of Diana's most dangerous enemies while the other two are Athena knows where," Persephone groaned as her daughter returned with three cups of water causing the one eyed Amazon to hand one of the cups to the bookworm who thanked her friend.

"It was that bad fighting for Antiope?," Alexa inquired causing Persephone to nod rub her temple while her daughter set her book down and silently watched the conversation between them.

"Yeah, it was; Artemis would always either hold her ground or advance in the phalanx formation with archers and slingers in the back as support. What I would suggest is that we send skirmishers ahead to take out her ranged support and send her troops into disarray while our main force gets in position to flank her," Persephone explained as she took a sip from her cup before walking into the kitchen and returning with a waterbag of kykeon where she opened the cap and chugged the brew down.

"Instead, the damned fool would order we get into phalanx formation and meet them head without any archers or slingers providing cover fire. It's like she's trying to get us all killed!" the one eyed Amazon snarled as she leaned back in her chair while her daughter hesitated for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Well...maybe you should ask Queen Hippolyta if you can lead instead of Antiope since she's doing such a bad job?" Persephone's daughter recommended causing the one eyed Amazon to raise a brow while Alexa thumped her chin with her index finger before shrugging.

"It wouldn't hurt," Alexa told her friend who grumbled and shifted her gaze between the duo before sighing.

"Alright, I'll ask her once she gets back," Persephone responded which made her daughter grin before she rubbed the back of her head and nervously shifted in her seat before staring at her mother dead in the eye.

"Mom, when will I be able to talk to Diana?" Persephone's daughter asked which made Alexa choke on the water she was drinking while the one eyed Amazon put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Elpis, I don't want you to talk to her, okay? She has a very warped and dangerous view of the world that can corrupt others into following her. You need no further proof of than the Home Guard and her lover, Superman," Persephone pointed out causing Elpis to grumble and rub her arm while Alexa set her cup down on the table where she waited for her chance to speak.

"But mom, I'm almost an adult so shouldn't I be taking a more active role in helping our people?" Elpis responded while pouting slightly which made the one eyed Amazon sigh softly while Alexa cleared her throat.

"If you wish to help, then you can assist me in the archives by learning as much as you can about the Wolf Men and once we find Alexis and Berenice's trail, you can tag along," Alexa told the young woman who widened her eyes before smiling elatedly and practically bounced on her toes before the bookworm held up a finger which made Elpis pause.

"In an auxiliary role," Alexa finished which made her honorary niece groan and slump her shoulders shoulders slump before meekly nodding as they all heard someone suddenly knocking at the door.

"Persephone, it's urgent. Cassandra Sandmark has come bearing news that someone might be trying to break Diana out of prison," the voice shouted from the other side of the door causing Persephone and Alexa to exchange glances with one another before the one eyed Amazon approached the entry point with the bookworm following suit.

"Take us to her then; hopefully she'll be able to provide something other than information we already know," Persephone remarked while opening the door and then looking at her daughter where she gestured for Elpis to follow them causing her daughter to point at herself before grinning and walking in between her two role models.

Unbeknownst to the trio, a dark red mist suddenly wafted into Persephone's home to reveal a heavily armored man wearing dark grey hoplite regalia along with red, glowing eyes that seemed to be like to bright, burning stars. Walking toward a drawer, the man picked up a picture of Persephone and Elpis and examined it where he allowed a fond smile to form on his lips as he traced a finger over the picture. A part of him regretted that he couldn't be a proper husband or father, but Persephone understood that he was as chaotic and unpredictable as war itself while Elpis understood his duties meant that he couldn't be at her home for long. Sighing, Ares disappeared in a flash of dark red mist and returned to Olympus where he would continue to monitor the situation and help whichever side her saw fit to give aid to.

* * *

"Alright, let's set anchor here," Valeria stated as she threw the device into the water while Demetria humored Julia by allowing her to help put her armor on while she tied two cases of forearm length spears to her hips.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? We could always ask Kumiho to babysit Julia," the Atlantean pointed out which made Demetria shake her head as she slung her dipylon shield over her shoulder.

"Yes beloved, I'm sure. Being subtly direct won't work for this task," Demetria remarked as she picked up Motherbox who had agreed to go with her where she clipped the living computer to her belt as the Atlantean grumbled.

"Fine, just come back to us, okay?" Valeria conceded as she and Demetria shared a quick, intimate kiss while Julia hugged her mother's thigh which made the Amazon kneel down and tightly embrace her child.

"I will," Demetria replied as she broke off the hug and put on her helmet which had a darkened visor in front instead of the traditional faceplate which not only increased her vision, but also didn't gather as much perspiration as a regular helmet.

Climbing into the dinghy floating next to the boat, Demetria began paddling towards shore with her companion all while thinking of her friends...well, former friends on Themyscira. It was wishful thinking, but perhaps some day she, Alexa, Persephone, Orana, Penethesilea, Hippolyta, and Nubia could be friends again. Clearing her head of such thoughts, Demetria forged onward toward the shore where she disembarked the vessel and pulled the dinghy onto land.

"Focus, focus, focus, focus," Demetria chanted while pushing any more fond memories she held of her former friends into the back of her head as she walked into the desert towards some ruins that she, Valeria, and Motherbox found with apparent connections to Pakhet.

Unknown to her, a women who strangely looked like a bipedal lioness intently watched her from the trees before landing behind some bushes without making a sound before and clasped her claw like hands together. Mouthing a prayer, the woman disappeared without any indication she was even there and then landed within her tribe where Boudas or fellow lioness' were either sparring, mingling with one another, or offering prayers to their patron goddess, Pakhet. Pushing her way past the crowd, the woman ran into a temple and made her way toward a gladiatorial pit lit up with green flames where she frantically looked around and found Cheetah doing combat training with her thralls.

"Cheetah, Cheetah! There's an Amazon at our shore!" the woman cried out causing Barbara to hold up a clawed hand to halt the sparring session and then locked eyes with the thrall where she folded her arms.

"Did she bring anyone else?" Cheetah demanded while letting out a growl one would expect to hear coming from a big cat causing the thrall to gulp and nervously nod as Barbara regained her composure and gestured for the thrall to continue.

"Yes, an Atlantean and a small girl," the lioness answered causing Cheetah to mentally sigh in relief before looking at her sparring partners and dismissing them as she jumped out of the pit and landed in front of the woman.

"Take some of your warriors and find out why she's here. After that, you're free to do what you want to her, just make sure we aren't discovered," Barbara ordered causing the thrall to dutifully nod before sprinting out of the temple while Cheetah put a hand on her chin and mulled over this information.

" _Have the Amazons caught onto my plan? No, they don't concern themselves with matters not pertaining to Themyscira, but better to be safe than sorry,"_ Cheetah thought to herself before she grimaced as an unbearable, splitting pain tugged at her gut making her feel as if someone was trying to rip her stomach from her body.

"Be patient, Pakhet. You'll get your sacrifices," Cheetah stated through gritted teeth as another bout of unbearable agony brought Barbara to her knees where she tightly clutched her stomach and breathed heavily.

Tightly shutting her eyes and gnashing her teeth, Cheetah managed to force down the pain and climbed to her feet where she exited the temple with her head held high to not convey any weakness to her thralls. She would get her revenge on Diana and get her unlimited pool of sacrifices, but she had to make sure her insatiable bloodlust, "gifted" to her by Pakhet, didn't become her undoing first.


	5. Chapter 5 For Every Action

Ch. 5

For Every Action

 _Injustice 2 is the property of its respective owners, Ocs belong to me_

"Cassie, with all due respect, what you're telling us isn't news. We already know that Valeria sacked that laboratory in Man's World and took a Motherbox which is why we're expecting Demetria to try to break out Diana any day now," Persephone stated while putting a hand on her hip causing Wonder Girl to sigh as she took out a miniature device Batman gave her causing Alexa to briefly look up from her notepad.

"Did you know that Motherbox's signal reappeared in Africa?" Wonder Girl inquired causing Persephone to say nothing while Alexa while mentally sighed in relief that what she and Persephone surmised about Demetria's location was confirmed.

"I did not, but now that I do I suggest Penthesilea, Nubia, and Orana should go as soon as possible along with anyone else Batman wants to send along," Persephone replied calmly causing Cassandra to nod in agreement as she was about to contact Batman about this new development before a double bitted axe hurtled through the air and deeply embedded itself into the ground.

Widening her eyes for a split second, Wonder Girl readied herself for the enemy attack only for Alexa to put a calm, assuring hand on her shoulder which made Cassie raise a brow as an amazon wearing the pelts of various slain dragons and chimeras fashioned into hoplite armor approached the group.

"Tch, the vigilante aids us now, but he's going to bring Valeria back to Man's World to face their justice and not our own," the amazon growled as she yanked her weapon out of the ground and cordially greeted her fellow amazons, playfully punched Elpis' shoulder, and glared at Wonder Girl.

"Orana, they reached out to us because-"

"Because the vigilante wants us to work for him as subordinates instead of with him as equals," Orana snarled while wrapping the tassel on the bottom part of her axe and then brandished it at Wonder Girl who glared at her.

"What I did shouldn't have surprised you. Have you forgotten that even in peacetime a warrior must be ready?" Orana growled which made Cassie ball her hands into fists as Orana seemingly teleported in front of her with her arm reared back.

Staying calm, Cassie seamlessly pushed the punch away from her face while throwing a palm heel strike at Orana's chin, but the amazon dipped her head to the side and kneed Wonder Girl in the gut. Gagging, Cassie doubled over which Orana took full took advantage by sweeping Cassie's feet from right under her with a stiff kick to her ankles while she was off balance causing Cassie to gasp as she fell backwards. Tucking her head in and curling up slightly so as to lessen the damage when she hit the ground, Cassie prepared to roll with the impetus only for Orana to grab a handful of her shirt and hoist her up in the air.

"You've gotten better, but you still have a long way to go before you're on Diana's level," Orana stated in a softer, but no less firm tone of voice as she gently set Cassie down where the huntress felt someone put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come now, sister. Let's not create unnecessary antagonism between us," Nubia advised Orana who snorted and gently brushed her hand off before trudging toward Persephone and Elpis.

"Is she always like that?" Cassie whispered while dusting herself off causing Alexa to sigh and nod slowly while Nubia pinched the bridge of her nose before putting a hand on her hip.

"She means well, but yes. As you have seen, she can be particularly...belligerent when she wants to get a point across," Nubia explained causing Cassie to spare a quick, irritated glare at the huntress before conferring with the Nubia on how to go about pursuing the Regime remnants while Alexa informed Hippolyta and Penthesilea on what was going on through a communication stone.

While they talked about on how best to pursue the war criminals, Persephone, Elpis, and Orana discussed a different matter where Elpis asked, "Shouldn't we also talk about what we're going to do with Julia? I mean, there's a lot of Amazons who would love to make her pay for her mother's crimes."

Nodding, both Orana and Persephone mulled over what do as an idea came to the huntress' mind, albeit one which would be less than ideal. Sucking in a breathe, Orana suggested that, "Julia could stay with me in the badlands until we figure out what to do with her. She would still be in danger, but from the beasts we share the island rather than our sisters."

Nodding slowly, the one eyed amazon rubbed her chin before asking if "Orin would be willing to let her live in Atlantis?" causing Orana to immediately shake her head as she bluntly pointed out that, "I doubt he or any of the citizenry are going to be fond of letting in the child of an exile and a loyal servant of the Regime's second in command."

Grumbling, but conceding the point, Persephone wracked her brain for a solution before Elpis yelped, "She could live with us; I doubt anyone is going to try to break into our house," making the the two warriors grunt as they noticed Alexa, Nubia, and Wonder Girl approaching them.

"Penethesilea is heading to Africa as we speak while Hippolyta is returning home to ask Athena for guidance," Alexa informed them which made Orana nod and twirl her axe before walking toward the griffon she came here on while casting a backward wave at the gathered group.

"Then that means we should head out too before the trail goes cold," Orana declared as she mounted her griffon and whipped it reins causing the beast to screech before taking off into the air at high speeds where the Amazon appeared as a barely noticeable dot in the sky.

"She has a point; Cassandra, would it be alright if I accompany you to Man's World as a sign of goodwill and cooperation from Queen Hippolyta?" Nubia requested which made the heroine smile and nod as she hovered a few inches off of the ground and gestured for the current Champion of the Amazons to follow her.

"Of course, we would be happy to have you," Wonder Girl told the champion who grinned as she floated a few inches off the ground and prepared to follow Cassie, but not before looking over her shoulder at Alexa, Persephone, and Elpis.

"Don't worry, we will bring back Demetria and Valeria so they can face justice; you have my word," Nubia proclaimed in a subdued, but passionate tone akin to a wildfire slowly gaining strength making Alexa and Elpis feel assured that she would accomplish this task while Persephone just folded her arms as the two heroes flew back to Man's World.

"We'll see whether or not Nubia's words hold true; Elpis, go with Alexa to the archives and gather whatever information you can find on the whereabouts of Alexis and Berenice. I'm going to ask my...significant other on what they know," Persephone stated causing Alexa to narrow her eyes, but begrudgingly nod while beckoning Elpis to follow her which the younger warrior did after asking Persephone to give her other parent her regards.

Nodding, the one eyed amazon walked down the street and past the marketplace while greeting any of her sisters she encountered where she entered her home and activated what little psychic energy of war she had within her.

"Ares, please, we need to talk," the one eyed amazon murmured and for a moment, everything was quiet save her Persephone's own breathing and the chorus of footsteps coming outside making Persephone calmly sit down on the couch.

However, the silence was interrupted when a mist not of red and black, but of heavenly white and ethereal gold suddenly appeared in her home making Persephone's breathe hitch and the color drain from her face. Widening her eye when the fog ebbed and revealed a tall, muscular, golden haired woman wearing a helmet which resembled an owl, chest armor which had embossings of olive branches, greaves shaped like a gorgons screaming face, and vambraces which had relief images of serpents lunging at some unseen prey, Persephone could only stare up while tightly gripping the armrests of her couch.

"A-Athena!? W-why are you here!?" the one eyed amazon said in a voice barely above a whisper as the Goddess of War stared down at Persephone with a stern, critical gaze which made the warrior look away as if she was a child being admonished.

"Because it suits my purpose; don't expect my baby brother to come to your rescue either. I tampered with his magic so he's stuck on Olympus for the time being," Athena gruffly retorted which made Persephone wince slightly as the Goddess of War sat down at the table and gestured at the seat across from her.

Hesitantly getting up from her seat, Persephone sat down at the table and reluctantly stared at Athena who continued to glower at her as if she were a naughty child.

"First of all, I would like to know why you're able to use the psychic energy of war and not my niece. Did something affect the power transfer?" Athena inquired causing Persephone to slowly nod as she was about to get up to get some cups of water only for an invisible force to keep her pinned down in her chair.

"Yes; I don't know the specifics, but the ability to utilize the energy of war was unintentionally passed onto me, not my daughter. However, Elpis is still a Super Amazon in the same vein as King Orin," Persephone explained causing Athena to nod as the one eyed amazon mentally sighed in relief that whatever was keeping her pinned to her chair didn't keep her from wriggling around to find a more comfortable position.

"Second, are you and your daughter affiliated with my brother's war machine?" Athena questioned as Persephone winced when the invisible force keeping her in place now felt like it was crushing her making the amazon release a breathe and stare at the Goddess of War dead in the eye.

"No, our...night of passion didn't have any strings attached as is the saying; I'm still loyal to my sisters and our goddesses," Persephone assured the war deity, but Athena didn't seem convinced as she shifted in her chair ever so slightly and seemingly stared right into Persephone's soul which made the warrior shudder.

"As well you should," Athena responded as she held up a hand where arcs of electricity cascaded through her fingers and formed a lightning bolt in the shape of a javelin her hand much to Persephone's surprise as she thought Zeus was the only one with that ability.

"Athena, p-please, w-what can I do to show you my loyalty?" Persephone nervously stuttered causing the Goddess of War to purse her lips while tapping her fingers against the lightning bolt before allowing the construct to fade away.

"There is one thing; you are in pursuit of Alexis and her daughter, correct? I will tell you where they are...for a price," Athena offered causing Persephone to gulp and raise a brow as she wondered what exactly the Goddess of War had in mind, but still hesitantly asked: "What kind of price?"

Seeing Athena smirk, the amazon gasped as she felt something lift her up into the air and towards the Goddess of War where Athena passionately embraced her like Ares did during their special night and stared right into her eyes.

"Let's have our own night of passion so some of my powers can get passed onto you," Athena whispered causing the Amazon's eye to widen before she glowered at the war goddess.

"You're just doing this to hurt Ares, aren't you?" Persephone snarled causing Athena to nod as she effortlessly carried the amazon over her shoulder and into Persephone's bedroom where she tossed Persephone onto the bed.

"That, and having some of my power within you will allow me to keep an eye on him. Also, I can understand why he favors you," Athena replied as she spawned a copy of herself which wrapped her arms and legs around Persephone's waist which pinned the amazon in place.

"What do you mean?" Persephone inquired only to be taken aback as the clone conjured an eyepatch over her one good eye which effectively blinded Persephone causing the Amazon to contort the copy's fingers in the wrong direction.

"For one, you can certainly hold your own in a fight; no other Amazon uses a sickle and xiphos in combat after all," Athena replied as the Copy Athena made sure the eyepatch wouldn't come loose with a quick application of magic while being unfazed by her small limbs being wrenched as the Goddess of War took of her helmet.

"Secondly, you have this feminine, yet rugged charm to you; no doubt because of your time laboring in the fields, but I think my brother was also taken by your...simplicity," Athena continued as she undid her long hair and let it flow freely which made Persephone pause in her struggling and raise a brow.

"Simplicity?" Persephone restated as the Goddess of War took of her chest armor and let out a deep, cathartic breathe before taking off her bracers where she rubbed her wrists and set them down on the ground.

"Indeed; you have no outlandish goals like say, become ruler of Olympus like my brother and I or uselessly fighting for a peace like the noble, but misguided vigilantes of Man's World. All you wish to do in life is protect Themyscira and your sisters, find the love of your life which you found in my brother, and have a child which you accomplished," Athena surmised as she let her greaves crash to the floor with a thud and set them aside before smirking and opening up her garment which exposed her cleavage.

Crawling into the bed, Persephone stuttered and struggled against the clone's grasp only to feel as if she was wrestling with the Hecatoncheires themselves as Athena gently grasped her head.

"Athena, please, can't I do something else?" Persephone implored only to gasp and blush heavily as she felt her face being pushed in between two soft mounds of flesh as Athena laid down on her side while holing Persephone close to her like a teddy bear.

"No, but don't worry, I'll be gentle," Athena responded as the clone laid down on the other side and embraced the Goddess of War causing Persephone's breathe to hitch as she was now tightly sandwiched between them.

Cathartically sighing, Athena summoned a thick book about physics by Professor Stein and opened the page where she last marked it and informed Persephone that: "Alexis and Berenice are in Scotland on the island of Barra Head where they're living among a sect of Wolf Men called Clan Dyeus. Similar to Themyscira, they use cloaking magic to prevent outsiders from encroaching on their land."

Raising a brow, Persephone mulled over this info as Copy Athena pulled the covers over them while Athena affectionately scratched the back of Persephone's head.

"Hmm, who knew pleasures of the flesh could be so enjoyable. No wonder Father engages in it so often even though it understandably angers Mother," Athena mused making her clone roll her eyes while Persephone struggled in their grasp, but neither Athena or her copy budged in the slightest.

"There is something else you should know; you were right to suspect Antiope of foul play, but not for the reasons you assumed. She's serving an ancient enemy of Olympus against her will, the one who nearly bested Zeus in combat and almost claimed dominion over the cosmos," Athena informed Persephone in a voice barely above a whisper which made Persephone's eye widen underneath her eyepatch as she tried to get up only for the Goddess of War and her clone to keep her in place.

"None of that, there will be plenty of time for you to prepare for war," Athena told the one eyed Amazon who growled under her breathe, but begrudgingly ceased her writhing as the Goddess of War internally groaned when she heard Hippolyta beseeching her for guidance.

Creating another clone, Athena sent it in her stead where she continued to read her book and thought about how to use the inevitable battle against the ancient enemy to her advantage.

* * *

"Find anything?" Demetria asked Motherbox while continuing to scour the ruins for some sort of connection to the Goddess of the Hunt.

"Not yet; will continue to look,"Motherbox responded, having grasped how to speak thanks to listening in on the interactions between Demetria, Valeria, and Julia, causing Demetria to nod as she came upon cracked, stone pillars with hieroglyphs on them.

Seeing horrid images of the Pakhet, her servants, and one of her previous champions savagely laying waste to the invaders in picture or even outright eating them while they were still alive, Demetria cringed and unclipped Motherbox from her belt.

"What do these hieroglyphs underneath the images say?" Demetria asked as she held up Motherbox while grimacing when she saw images of Pakhet, her servants, and her champion at the time raping anyone they could get their hands on or massacring them with all manner of weaponry or their bare hands.

"Message translated, says "If you attack my people, this is the fate that awaits yours," Motherbox informed the Amazon who scowled as she spotted more the ruins and grimaced when she saw an image of humanoid lioness mercilessly spearing a baby in the horrified mother's hands.

"I know I should be disgusted, but who am I to talk?" Demetria quipped as she continued to look around and came upon a broken down, rotted hut causing the Amazon to raise a brow and walk toward the abode.

Cautiously stepping inside, Demetria recoiled when she saw a bouda lying on the ground clutching a bloodied muzzle loading gun in its giant hands causing the Amazon to give an experimental kick to the creature's crotch. When this didn't elicit a reaction, Demetria took out one of her spears and skewered the beast through its gut just to be sure which didn't make the werecreature react in the slightest. Sighing in relief, the Amazon reached down and grasped the obsolete rifle where she tried to tug it out of the bouda's grasp only for it to firmly remain in its grasp. Taking out one of her spears, Demetria raised her weapon up and swung it downward like an axe causing the sides of the spearhead to chop somewhat into the bouda's flesh, but the limb remain attached by strands of rotted sinew.

Scrunching her brow when the pungent odor hit her nose, Demetria coughed onto her shoulder before swinging the side of the spearhead downward yet again which nearly cut through the limb as now it only remained attached to the rifle by thin string of decayed flesh. Rolling her eyes, Demetria swung the spearhead down yet again which cut through the limb and freed the muzzleloader from the werecreature's grasp...only for its hand to remain attached to the stock. Although it took a fair bit of effort, the Amazon managed to pry the hand off and kick it outside where she examined the weapon and immediately felt a subdued, yet undeniable energy which made her feel like she could take on anything or anyone.

"Motherbox, could you scan this, please?" Demetria requested as she set the muzzle loader against the wall and held the living computer close to it where she wiped away the sweat that had formed on her brow.

"Abnormal weapon, detected tiny residue of god energy," Motherbox explained causing Demetria to say nothing as she picked up the muzzleloader and slung it over her shoulder as the living computer than said, "Capable of tracking down where the energy originated from, could teleport you close to it, want me to do so?"

"Where is this source of energy coming from?" Demetria inquired as she stepped out of the hut and shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun with her forearm as Motherbox homed in on the energy and blinked.

"Nubia," Motherbox answered which made the amazon nod slowly; from the map she had studied prior to coming here, it wasn't that far.

"Alright, let's investigate," Demetria declared causing the living computer to open a boomtube in front of her which the warrior walked through where she found herself in front of a cracked, broken pyramid that had definitely seen better days.

Noticing that the door had been broken down, Demetria looked down at the debris before focusing her gaze toward the entrance where she shuddered when the dark abyss looked back at her. Steeling herself, Demetria pressed a button on the side of her helmet which enabled her to see in the dark and cautiously stepped inside where she, after walking for a bit, saw corpses of boudas and werelionesses littering the ground with some being shot by muskets, disemboweled by their foe's bare hands, or had their chests or heads caved in. Cringing, the amazon hesitantly soldiered on where she noticed that the boudas and werelionesses were wearing different emblems on their armor with one looking like a roaring lioness with blood caked teeth and bits of flesh stuck in between in them. Shifting her gaze, Demetria saw another emblem looked like a lioness crouching down with its teeth and claws brandished as if it was on the hunt. Stepping over the bodies, Demetria entered a room which looked like a temple of sorts where she widened her eyes when she saw not only the dead bodies of boudas and werelionesses, but also the corpses of humanoid like cheetahs lying motionless on the floor.

Scanning the area, Demetria cringed when she saw a group of boudas and werelionesses with the insignia of a lioness on the hunt slumped against the wall with their heads crushed or their chests caved in where their blood and viscera was used to scribble hieroglyphs on the wall. Taking a deep breathe in and letting it back out to calm herself, Demetria unclipped Motherbox from her belt and held her up causing the living computer to scan the message. Blinking, Motherbox informed Demetria that the the hieroglyphs said, "My day of reckoning approaches," making the amazon shudder and tighten her grip on her shield.

"Motherbox, let's find this energy-"

"Red means close, blue means far," Motherbox interrupted with her robotic monotone wavering ever so slightly which didn't inspire confidence in Demetria as she gently swung her around.

Seeing Motherbox glow a dull shade of red, Demetria hastened her pace and walked forward where the living computer lit up like a wildfire when the amazon came to a stop in front of a statue depicting a woman with a lion for a head sitting atop a mountain of bodies as if it were a throne. Taking her muzzleloader off of her shoulder, Demetria held the rifle up to the statue causing the idol's eyes to faintly glow yellow like a candle about to go out which made the musket shine a dull yellow as well. Suddenly, the emasculating feeling that she could take on anything and win was increased a hundred fold and made her feel like she was the best warrior in the whole world, no, _the entire universe,_ and wanted everyone to know it. Seeing the glow from the statue's eyes die out like a candle, Demetria slung her muzzleloader over her shoulder and glanced at the living computer who scanned the area and blinked.

"Place no longer emanates god energy, let's leave," Motherbox suggested which Demetria was more than happy to assent to as she quickly made her way back to where she came from until her instincts suddenly screamed at her to look out.

Turning on a dime, Demetria brought her shield out in front of her and braced only for Motherbox to form a protective barrier around which negated the need for it as a gigantic lioness with yellow war paint adorning its pitch black coat, sickly yellow, glowing eyes, and razor sharp claws and fangs caked with dry blood came crashing down on the dome. Most tellingly, Demetria noticed the insignia of the lioness with blood and viscera splattered teeth scrawled on its forehead making the amazon wonder where the rest of her foe's forces were.

"Who are you? Why did you come here?" the lioness snarled as she raised a paw to swipe at the barrier only for Motherbox to discharge a powerful burst of energy knocking the big cat a few feet while leaving Demetria unharmed as the barrier shattered from the force behind the explosion.

"My name is Demetria of Themyscira and I came here hoping to learn more and utilize the power, or some of it, of the being known as Cheetah so I could free my master, Diana of Themyscira," Demetria answered with the whole, raw truth in the hopes that this would appease the beast, but the only thing this accomplished was making the big cat snarl and bare its teeth.

"You serve someone who's directly responsible for throwing the world out of balance!? I was considering sparing you, but I've changed my mind!" the lioness roared causing Demetria to quickly set both cases of spears down on the ground and concentrated causing the spears to fly out of the cases and relentlessly pelt the lioness like a neverending hailstorm.

To Demetria's shock, the spears shattered like glass upon impacting the big cat's hide making Demetria choose to wisely turn tail and ran back through the corridor she came from while Motherbox released another pulse of explosive energy which, in the lioness's enraged state, only pushed her back a few inches at the most. Looking over her shoulder, Demetria saw the lioness glare at her through the entrance much too big to accommodate her frame...until the entire pyramid suddenly shifted from a cramped, enclosed space to a wide, spacious one. Not even stopping to see how close her pursuer was which she could tell from the thunderous stomps getting ever closer, Demetria reached out to the exit...only for the cracked door to suddenly slam shut. Widening her eyes, the amazon regained her composure and rolled to the side just as the lioness swiped her giant paw where the warrior once was which cleanly sliced through the rocky walls sending giant chunks of rubble onto the floor. Hoping the lioness's durability didn't extend to her eyes, Demetria dove, spun, and rolled around to evade the big cat's dogged, relentless offense all while waiting for her opening. Seeing her chance when the lioness chomped at her form only to bite empty air when Demetria leaped to the side, the warrior reared her arm back and flung the spear at the big cat's gigantic eye...only for the lioness to precisely catch the projectile in between its claws which looked like a toothpick in her grasp.

Undeterred, Demetria threw another one and this time, the lioness didn't bother to catch it as it struck her eye...and burst into a million splinters causing the amazon to balk. Lazily flinging the spear back at Demetria, the amazon froze as the spear traveled far too fast for her to react to and doubted her body could act in time from sheer instinct. Immensely grateful for the fact that the spear harmlessly fell to the ground upon hitting her chest, Demetria sighed in relief before cringing as the lioness clutched her in her giant paw and slammed her against the wall.

"Before I kill you, you're going to answer some questions for me. One, is the Regime still around or has it fallen?" the lioness snarled as she ruthlessly squeezed making the amazon wail as a chorus of vicious, sickening cracks echoed throughout the pyramid as the big cat mercilessly bashed Demetria against the wall yet again.

Vomiting a copious amount of blood onto the lioness's paw, the amazon struggled to catch her breathe and weakly slumped forward causing the big cat to hold Demetria's head up with her thumb.

"It...it's gone," Demetria feebly croaked making the big cat sneer as she pressed her thumb against the amazon's face and pushed it back making Demetria scream as she pushed and pounded the digit to no avail.

"Two, which members of the Regime are still active?" the lioness growled as she hoisted her arm up and brutally smashed it against the ground making Demetria howl in immense, indescribable pain as she felt as if every bone in her body had shattered.

"B...Black Adam...a...and my...my master...are the...the only...ones...who...who are...free...t...to my...knowledge," Demetria weakly answered in a voice barely above a whisper as the lioness held the amazon mere inches from her face and pressed her thumb down on her skull as if she was going to squish it like a grape.

"Three, why shouldn't I kill you right here and now?" the lioness seethed causing Demetria to cough up even more blood onto the big cat's paw who released a puff of air from her nostrils directly in Demetria's face.

"I...I don't...have...have a...good reason; d...do what...what you...have to...do," Demetria feebly wheezed as she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the end where she said in her head, _"Valeria, Julia, I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise."_

Before the big cat could crush Demetria like a bug, Motherbox, though suffering damage herself from the lioness' assault, managed to released a burst of energy which burnt the big cat's paw forcing the lioness to release her grip on Demetria. However, she burnt Demetria slightly due to not having time to fine tune like she did with Valeria, but taking the time to do so wouldn't have produced enough power to break themselves free from their enemy's grip as the living computer opened a boomtube beneath the amazon. Just as the lioness forced down the burning, searing pain on her paw, she watched as Demetria's unconscious form fell through the boomtube where it closed before she could reach it. Growling under her breathe, the big cat suddenly shone a sickly yellow light and reformed herself into a tall, imposing humanoid form as using her full power wasn't needed for now. Sniffing the air to pick up the amazon's scent, the lioness got a lock on it and chased after it with her razor sharp claws out and her teeth barred. Meanwhile, Demetria gasped as she landed face first in the grainy sand with a thud making her groan as she couldn't find the strength to lift her limbs no matter how hard she tried.

"Will heal you as best I can, be still," Motherbox ordered as she began to glow with a bright, serene white light which slowly began to seal some of the abrasions and lacerations shut while mending and repairing as much of Demetria's broken bones as she could.

"Motherbox, what makes you think I could move in the first place?" Demetria seethed which made the living computer suddenly glow pink and make an odd, whirring noise which sounded like an embarrassed sigh.

"Sorry," Motherbox stated causing the amazon to purse her lips and sigh heavily as she regained some feeling in her body enabling her to get onto all fours and shakily climb to her feet where she exhaled loudly.

"It's fine, I shouldn't have reacted like that," Demetria replied softly as she looked around and picked up her shield, a single spear which survived the assault, and the musket with Motherbox repairing any wear and tear the muzzleloader suffered.

"We got what we came here for even if it's not to the extent I wanted; let's head back," Demetria wisely said causing Motherbox to blink and open a boomtube in front of her which the amazon limped toward where it seemed so close, but yet so far.

Just as she was nearly through the portal, her instincts flared up yet again as loud, deafening booms rang out as if thunder struck in quick succession causing the amazon to bring her shield up to bear which blocked several projectiles hurtling toward her chest while Motherbox formed dome around her to block the rest.

"Quick, surround her before she gets through the boomtube!" a voice barked causing boudas and werelionesses garbed in wooden, stone, and bone armor to charge down the hill toward Demetria who grit her teeth and readied herself.

"Motherbox, bring the barrier down, now!" Demetria shouted and jolted as more projectiles shaded yellowish-orange slammed into the bubble forming cracks around it and making Motherbox blink erratically.

"Trying," the living computer responded as the energy she spent healing Demetria and protecting her made her overlook the damage she herself suffered during their skirmish with their previous foe.

Bashing a bullet aside which penetrated the dome with her shield, Demetria dug her feet in and swung her shield behind her in a punching motion which broke the already weakened shield and leaving nothing in the way for her to make her escape. Diving toward the boomtube, Demetria gasped as something caught her ankle and stopped her momentum cold making her hit the ground on her nose. Wincing, the amazon gasped as she was suddenly flung backwards like a ragdoll where she hit the ground with a harsh thud which knocked the wind out of her and made her see stars.

"You're a long way from home, Amazon," a voice belonging to a cream colored werelioness sneered as she gestured at Demetria causing two boudas to grab her arms while the other werecreatures relieved Demetria of her weaponry.

"I'm aware," the amazon quipped where she received a vicious knee to her spine from one of the boudas making her tightly grit her teeth as the werelioness knelt down and roughly grasped a patch of her hair.

"Don't get smart with me; now explain...you smell like the enemy," the werecreature noted as she took a long whiff of Demetria's scent which her cohorts noticed as well as they nervously looked around as if they were going to come under attack at any moment.

"Who's the enemy?" the amazon inquired only for her captor to ignore as the werelioness let out a low, guttural growl before looking at the boudas and motioning for them to hold her up.

"None of your concern; tell us why you're here and we'll let you go," the werecreature stated which made Demetria narrow her eyes and suspiciously raise a brow making the werelioness glare back at her.

"That's awfully merciful of you," Demetria remarked as the werelioness grabbed the amazon by the neck and hoisted her up in the air, but the warrior grabbed one of the daggers the werecreature's belt and pressed the cold steel against her neck.

"It's no mercy; the enemy is just as likely to kill us as they would with you, but we'll be long gone by the time they get here," the werelioness bluntly replied as she increased the pressure on Demetria's neck only for the amazon to stab the tip of the dagger into the werecreature's throat making the huntress wince.

"Fine, I came here trying to get an understanding or a portion of Cheetah's power so I could help my master, Diana of Themyscira, escape from imprisonment," the amazon answered which made the werelioness pop out her claws which shallowly pierced into the amazon's throat who responded in kind by digging the knife deeper into the lioness' neck.

"You serve my master's archenemy!? I am very tempted to just kill you right here and now," the werelioness snarled as Demetria readied herself to fully plunge the dagger into her enemy' neck only to see her foe's cohorts aiming their muskets at her just in case she tried anything.

"Go ahead, but remember our shared foe is coming and without me here to distract her, your chances of survival are slim," the amazon calmly retorted making the werelioness press the muzzle of her musket underneath Demetria's chin and slowly inch her fingers toward the trigger...before tossing Demetria onto the ground.

"Let's head back before the enemy gets here...and leave the little warrior to her fate," the werelioness added with an ever so slight smirk making Demetria tilt her head only for her breathe to hitch as she heard faint, booming footsteps getting closer and closer.

"Motherbox, boomtube no-AUGH!" Demetria began to say only to scream bloody murder as the werelioness shot a yellowish-orange bullet through her thigh causing Demetria to collapse on her knees and tightly clutch the wound where blood seeped through the gaps in her fingers.

Glowering at the werelioness, Demetria watched as her foe and her fellows mouth a quick prayer where they disappeared in a flash of light leaving the amazon kneeling down on the ground almost unable to move.

"Motherbox, boomtube," Demetria ordered just as the black lioness from the pyramid, now in humanoid form much to her surprise, skidded to a stop on an outcropping causing gusts of sand to flutter into the wind.

"I swear I smelled..." the lioness trailed off as she laid her eyes upon Demetria who nervously looked back at her with her teeth gnashed and fists clenched as Motherbox slowly opened a boomtube behind her.

Not bothering to say anything, the lioness lunged at the amazon with a mighty, earth shaking roar causing Demetria to simultaneously leap back and thrust her spear at her foe's face, but the lioness was prepared. Leaning her head to the side, the huntress grasped the weapon and pressed her neck against it in order to trap it as she swiped at Demetria as a distraction before breaking the spear in two which left Demetria with only her shield. Cursing, the amazon stepped back to avoid a swing at her face where she saw the portal fully open out of the corner of her eye. Remaining calm, Demetria rolled backwards to avoid the lioness' attempt at a grapple sending the amazon through the portal, but to her misfortune the lioness jumped into it as well before Motherbox could close it. Wincing as she landed on her back on some sort of rock formation, Demetria rolled to the side just as the lioness came crashing down knee first where her head used to be making the ground violently crack and sending chunks of rubble flying in all directions like shrapnel from a grenade.

"Geez, you really want me dead, do you?" Demetria remarked as she quickly looked to the side and saw the ship she came on...far off in the distance where it looked no bigger than a tiny dot.

"Of course, the Regime knocked the world out of order and by proxy, so did those who served it. You're death won't make up for all the harm it caused but..." the lioness began as she popped out her claws which sounded like they cut cleanly through something and glowered at Demetria who brought her shield out in front of her while balling her hand into a fist.

"It's a start," the lioness finished in a deathly calm tone of voice as she lunged at the amazon who used her shield to shove the swipe past her guard while stepping to the side and then landing a punch on her enemy's face which made the lioness wince.

With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Demetria leaned to the side to avoid a downward slash at her skull and then rolled underneath her foe's legs to evade an attempt to initiate a grapple where she struck out with her shield with a punching motion. Cringing as the shield connected with the small of her back, the lioness grit her teeth and wildly swung behind her only for Demetria to duck underneath the blow and at lunge at her enemy's leg. Wrapping her arms and legs around the muscular leg of the lioness, Demetria twisted her hips and tugged to the side making the lioness grimace as she was forced to follow the energy lest she let her leg be snapped in half. Grunting as she landed on her belly, the lioness hissed when Demetria struck the back of her head with her shield making the big cat feel a slight, throbbing sensation in her skull.

" _I got careless, time to stop fooling around,"_ the lioness thought to herself as she curled into a ball and bucked forward while protecting her skull with her hands and arms sending Demetria flying off of her back.

Remaining calm, Demetria tucked her head in and followed the impetus as best she could when she hit the ground where she rolled onto her knees. Forcing down the pain, the amazon climbed to her feet as the lioness cracked her neck and said: "You impress me, Amazon. Are your sisters just as skilled?"

"No, they don't hone their skills as much as my fellow lieutenants and I," Demetria answered as she backpedaled and swiped at a strike at her face with her shield which nearly made her arm go numb despite it just being a glancing blow.

"Let's hope that saves them when enemies come onto their shores," the lioness remarked making Demetria tilt her head before snapping back to reality as she dodged the front kick heading toward her chest only to gasp as the big cat's tail hooked her ankle which trapped her in place.

Raising her shield to block the slash coming down at the crown of her skull, Demetria screamed through gritted teeth as the lioness' full weight and girth in her current form, 100 tons in total, came crashing down on her. Fighting through the pain, Demetria slugged the lioness in the kidney...only to grimace as the bones in her hand cracked with a vicious crunch. Not wasting this opportune moment, the lioness kneed the amazon in the face with a sickening crack as her helmet was the only thing that saved her from death. Hitting the ground with a harsh thud and feeling her body nearly shut down, Demetria saw nothing but hazy, blurry blob and was barely able to discern her foe approaching her causing her to feint an elbow strike before attacking with her shield. Unfortunately, while the big cat fell for the feint, she was more than fast enough to recover and stop the strike in its tracks with her thick forearms before grasping Demetria's helmet and forearm in a death grip.

Applying pressure, the amazon screamed as her forearm holding up her shield broke like a twig while feeling as if a giant was stepping on her head. Fighting off the encroaching darkness, Demetria reared her leg back and kicked the lioness' chest which was barely enough to break the hold. Unfazed, the lioness charged at her as Demetria considered her current predicament; Motherbox was inactive due to taking time to heal, one of her hands and forearm were broken, and her head felt like it was splitting at the seams. The fight seemed hopeless, but she refused to just roll over and die. Leaning her head back when the lioness swiped at her head, Demetria winced as part of her scalp was shaved off, but thanks to being souped up on adrenaline, she managed to quickly shrug this off as she elbowed the side of the lioness' knee...only for it to do absolutely nothing.

Rolling underneath the lioness' legs when she tried to stomp on her head, the amazon tilted her head to dodge a cut at her throat and rammed her shoulder into the big cat's sternum only for the lioness to simultaneously stop the blow with her forearm and tightly wrap her arms around Demetria's upper back to keep her in place. Wailing in excruciating agony as the lioness crushed her foot with a powerful, brutal stomp, Demetria spat spare blood in her mouth into the big cat's eye making her foe gasp and stagger back. Hitting the ground, Demetria took the reprieve to catch her breathe as an idea, albeit one she was hesitate to entertain, came to mind that might tip the odds in her favor. Reaching into her pocket, the amazon pulled out the nanotech pill Valeria gave her and was about to place the pill in her mouth...until a thumb sized pebble knocked it right out of her fingers and sent it hurtling over the edge. Futilely reaching out to the nanotech pill, Demetria glared at the lioness who had knocked the pill out of her hand with a deft, precise throw and surged toward her where, to the amazon, she seemed to be like a black blur.

Acting fast, Demetria brandished her musket and pulled the trigger as fast as she could only for the lioness to bash the weapon aside sending the yellowish-orange projectile erratically hurtling into the sky. However, the thunderous, deafening noise, especially being so close to her ear, made the big cat scream in agony, hobble off to the side like a drunkard while clutching her bloodied ear, and vomit the contents of her stomach onto the ground as she struggled to stay upright. Widening her eyes when she saw her enemy's bloodied ear rapidly healing, Demetria glanced at Motherbox who was still busy repairing the damage she suffered and pleaded: "Motherbox, please, I need your help."

Seeing the lioness's wound heal in the blink of an eye, Demetria, with all possible options exhausted, closed her eyes, grit her teeth, and shielded her face with her forearm even though she knew it was a futile gesture as the big cat surged toward her with her claws outstretched. Faintly glowing, the living computer waited until the lioness was mere inches away from the amazon before brutally blasting the big cat in the face with a powerful, condensed orb of red light. Shrieking as her head violently snapped back, the lioness felt as if a star blew up in her face as she was sent flying across the battlefield. Gnashing her teeth, the lioness righted herself in midair and landed on her knees with a thud as she scanned the area for the amazon...only to find her nowhere insight. Growling and pounding her fist against the ground, the lioness rushed over to the edge and looked down where she saw the amazon limply floating downstream in a river. Just as she was about to jump down in order to pursue her, the lioness gasped as five, steel cable like tails wrapped around her limbs and neck and hoisted her up into the air.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to ask you not to kill her," Kumiho stated as the lioness writhed and struggled in her grip and even chomped on her tail making the beast of lore wince, but was able to maintain her hold on the big cat.

"She's with the Regime, she deserves to die!" the lioness spat with as much ire she could muster and to her surprise, Kumiho nodded in agreement as she teleported them into the broken down temple where she gently set the lioness down.

"I wholeheartedly agree, but she's my friend so I want her to live. That's beside the point though; I snooped around your temple and I must say I'm...intrigued. I didn't know Menhit tried to copy Pakhet's champion," Kumiho stated as she gestured with her head toward the corpses of the dead humanoid cheetahs lying on the ground making the lioness snort and stare at the beast of lore with a scowl.

"We tried to fight fire with fire, but the resulting warriors were substantially weaker than Pakhet's champion," the lioness answered while taking a few steps back and readying herself for an attack just in case, but all Kumiho did was nod slowly as she surveyed the room and the dead bodies before turning toward the big cat.

"Well, maybe Menhit should have made more of you instead of cheap knock-offs," Kumiho pointed out causing the big cat to bare her teeth and march right up to the multi-tailed fox who was hardly intimidated as the lioness jabbed her index finger toward her nose.

"I'm an avatar of Menhit herself while the bodies of my comrades you see before you were just imbued with a shred of her power. The situations cannot be compared," the lioness seethed as she wanted nothing more than to just strike this strange being down, but remembered that Kumiho could have done the same earlier and stayed her hand for the time being.

"Ah, and here I thought you were just an abnormally strong minion like Jade was; were you the only one or did Menhit make many like you?" Kumiho asked making the lioness scoff and tilt her head before folding her arms.

"I was one of many, but now I am the last of not only the avatars of Menhit, but her forces overall. Pakhet and her...it just feels filthy to call her brutes, warriors," the lioness trailed off making Kumiho nod slowly as she spared another glance at the corpses and saw that some of them had the emblem of the face of lioness with bloodied teeth and chunks of flesh stuck in between their incisors, the same insignia the lioness wore.

"I see, it must get lonely being the only one left. Still, I would have thought you would at least bury your fallen instead of leaving them to rot," the multi-tailed fox commented as she disintegrated the werecreature's bearing the emblem the lioness had into ash where she scattered them into the wind.

"I never had time; I'm always getting attacked by Pakhet's brutes on a daily basis and the only reason they aren't attacking right now is because your friend caught their attention," the lioness explained making the beast of lore grunt as she levitated the bodies of Pakhet's servants where she cremated the ones which were rotten while cooking the ones which were still fresh with her fox fire.

"A fair point I guess, but I must say your circumstances aren't quite...unfortunate from what I heard. You were made to be a copy of someone, you had to watch those you care about die one by one, and to top it all off, you're fighting a battle you didn't choose to be a part of," Kumiho surmised as she tore open the chest of a werelioness like it was a wet paper bag and dug around with her snout where she tore out the werecreature's heart with a wet, sickening squelch.

"Menhit didn't really care for what we thought of her war, we were supposed to go along with whatever she said and so long as we did that she was...magnanimous towards us," the lioness elaborated as Kumiho heartily gestured at the pile of bodies while happily chewing on the heart she yanked out causing blood to gush and cake her fangs.

"Do you want to do something more than just fight a losing battle and honor the last requests of a master who was respectful of you, but didn't actually care about you?" Kumiho asked which made the lioness raise a brow as she tore off the thigh of a bouda and ripped off a hunk of meat with her fangs where she noted how succulent the flesh was.

"You want me to serve you instead?" the lioness stated causing the multi-tailed fox to smirk as she tore out the liver of a bouda and slowly munched on it to savor its delicious flavor before gulping it down and licking her lips.

"Indeed, if you serve me, I'll treat you better than Menhit ever did, teach what I know about magic and combat, and help you figure out what you want to do with your life," Kumiho offered while digging through the chests of a bouda and werelioness where she ripped out their hearts and livers and devoured on them with gusto while the lioness simply tore off another chunk of meat from the thigh she was eating.

"What I want to do with my life?" the lioness restated while tilting her head making Kumiho nod vigorously as she swallowed a chewed up heart and released a breathe before looking at the big cat dead in the eye.

"Precisely, there must be something you enjoy doing for yourself rather than Menhit," Kumiho mused making the lioness reach down and rip off the arm of a werelioness where she sunk her fangs into the thick, juicy bicep and ripped off a hunk of flesh from the cooked limb.

"Not really; I did learn to enjoy fighting, but I was never really given the choice to think otherwise," the big cat answered while gorging on the meat from the arm and leg she tore off causing Kumiho to grunt as she devoured another liver and licked her nose before extending one of her tails like she was offering a handshake.

"Well, this is your opportunity; serve me and I'll help you discover what it is you like to do. You're free to refuse and I'll leave you to your solitude, but I hope we can at least maintain contact with each other if you choose to decline," Kumiho said in a calm, soothing tone and although the lioness was understandably wary of the multi-tailed fox at first, she sensed no deceit from the mystical beast the entire time they were talking through her scent, body language, and facial expressions.

"Very well, I will serve you...Master," the lioness responded as she wiped her lips with her forearm before gripping Kumiho's tail where she gently shook it up and down before releasing her grip on the appendage.

"Master-"

"Please, call me either Kumiho, Gumiho, Kitsune, Huli Jing, Yaoguai, Agma, or Youkai," Kumiho gently interrupted while flashing her new servant a genuinely kind smile to make her feel welcome causing the lioness to sight softly.

"I will just call you master, but what I want to know is what do you want to do? You don't have to tell me, but it would allow me to help you better if I knew about the goal you're striving for," the lioness reasoned making Kumiho nod, conceding the point, where she gorged on another heart and liver before placing a tail on her servant's shoulder.

"I'm glad you asked; come," the multi-tailed fox beckoned as she incinerated the bodies they were eating and teleported them to another part of the world where it was a dark, but calming night with the stars shining brightly in the sky.

"Now then, what do you see when you look up?" Agma inquired which made the big cat raise a brow before staring straight up where she saw the various constellations and the stars they were made up of glowing brilliantly in the sky.

"The stars, Master," the lioness replied making Yaoguai nod happily as she looked up at the glowing balls of energy and smiled almost...sadly like they brought her comfort when she needed it, but hurt her as well.

"Yes, and they are beautiful, aren't they? Kind of like...the eyes of heaven looking down at us, huh?" Youkai postulated making the lioness tilt her head, but otherwise couldn't formulate a response.

"I suppose so, Master," the lioness said after a brief moment of silence making Gumiho smirk as she suddenly started to glow with a blinding, white light making the big cat shield her eyes with her forearms.

"That's what I want, to achieve heaven so I may shine even more magnificently than I already do," Kitsune proclaimed as if she wanted the whole world to know it as the light faded revealing Kumiho in a giant, humanoid form where she had no visible mouth, striking, pitch black eyes, and a rotund, but sturdy gut.

Additionally, most her body was shaded a regal white and her tails and limbs had charcoal like blotches on them which made it look like they had been splashed with ink. Smirking, Agma suddenly looked up at the sky and outstretched her arms along with tilting her head back which made it look like the stars were rain drops and she was letting them hit her body. Although she had no mouth, the lioness could clearly tell Kitsune was smiling due to the expression in her eyes as Kumiho warmly smiled and offered her hand to her servant. Rolling her eyes, the big cat couldn't help but let a grin tug at the corner of her lips as she grasped her master's hand and felt herself being pulled to her feet.

"Since I introduced myself, would you be so kind as to return the favor?" Kumiho requested making her servant to rub her chin and purse her lips as she thought back to her time serving under Menhit before shrugging.

"You mean tell you my name, yes? Well...I don't have one; Menhit just called me servant, avatar, or clone," the lioness explained making Huli Jing snort and shake her head as she wished Menhit was here now...so she could kill her like she had done other deities who got on her bad side.

"That's no good; tell you what, from now on, you're Menhit. Your creator and her other avatars were slain while you remain which makes it your right to have the title," Kumiho reasoned making the lioness raise a brow and rub her chin; she supposed Agma had a point even if she would be seen as a pretender by the other deities.

"If it will make identification easier, than I accept the moniker, master," Menhit stated making Yaoguai grin and fondly pat the lioness on the shoulder like she was an old friend.

"Good, good. Then let's head back and destroy that dusty old pyra..." Kumiho began only to trail off as her head suddenly snapped to the side where she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing making Menhit raise a brow.

"Is something wrong-"

"Yes, my friends in danger; I know you want to bite off Demetria's head and quite honestly, I expect you to feel the same about Valeria, but their daughter, Julia is a kind, good-natured brat at the very least," Kitsune assured the avatar who shook her head and sighed heavily, but nevertheless nodded.

"I get to tear off Demetria's leg when all's said and done," Menhit growled causing the multi-tailed fox to nod as she teleported them to Valeria's location where she was locked in a three way battle consisting of herself and Julia, the amazons and vigilantes, and Pakhet's warriors.

* * *

"C'mon Julia, you can do it!" Valeria encouraged as her daughter struggled to use the same bulk up spell her mother used where sweat poured down her brow, the veins on her arms bulged from the strain, and her tattoos flickering erratically.

"I...I can't!" Julia shouted as she doubled over and collapsed on all fours where she took in deep, slow breathes causing Valeria to rush over to her and place a hand on Julia's back where she rubbed it soothingly.

"You did great, we'll try again later, okay?" the atlantean stated while helping Julia stand who tiredly nodded in response as she sluggishly leaned against the railing while Valeria proceeded to stretch her arms and spine.

"How did you get so good at using the spell, mom?" Julia asked while gulping down a breathe as Valeria rolled her hips in a circular motion and then cracked her neck before giving her daughter a shrug.

"I'm _amazing_ at using it actually, but to answer your question I used the spell for years at a time and I did _everything_ in it like eat, fight, invent, have sex with your mother, and...well, you get the point. Overtime it felt like a second skin to me and now, I can stay in it for however long I want," the atlantean explained as she put her hands on Julia's shoulder and gave her a nice, firm massage causing Julia to release a soft breathe as she felt as if her entire body was turning into jelly.

"Will I be able to do that?" Julia inquired with a hopeful glint in her eyes and nearly jumped for joy when Valeria smirked and vehemently nodded.

"Of course! I didn't know how to use the spell half as well as you did when I was your age!" Valeria shouted while giving Julia a proud, playful smack on her shoulder making the young girl blush and sheepishly rub her arm.

"Thanks mom," Julia thanked Valeria who smiled and gave her thumbs-up as the atlantean urged her to rest while she went through her own exercise regiment where the young girl pursed her lips before calling out to Valeria.

"Mom, I have a question regarding the nanotech pill; I know mine is permanent as far as we know, but is it the same for you and Mother?" Julia questioned making Valeria pause her routine and immediately shake her head which made the young girl raise a brow as the atlantean wiped off the sweat from her brow.

"No, the ones your mother and I have only last a few hours so we have to choose when we use it carefully. Well, your mother does, I just used it because I felt like it which is no big whoop since I don't really need it anyway," Valeria answered making the young girl scoff and fold her arms making the atlantean raise a brow and walk over to the railing where she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I want to feel like not having the benefits of the pill is no big whoop either," Julia huffed as she spared a glance at the shark fins on her forearms which had grown thicker and larger since ingesting the pill.

"Don't worry, I have the detox pill on standby so once you're training is complete, you can take it and rely on your own skills and powers," Valeria assured her daughter in the most kind and motherly tone she could muster, but all Julia did was sigh softly as she pursed her lips and mindlessly watched the fish swim around their boat.

"Minnow, you know why you had to take it; it's a dangerous world out there and your mother and I won't always be there to protect you. We'll do our best, but should something happen to us, it's good to know that you'll have an extra layer of protection," the atlantean stated which made Julia nod slowly as Valeria warmly ruffled her hair before she scowled, rolled her eyes, and protectively pulled her daughter behind her.

"Come on out; I knew you guys were there the whole time. Thanks for ruining our mother-daughter bonding by the way," Valeria hollered with a irritated sigh making Orana leap down onto the deck of the boat atop the cliff she was on, Penthesilea climb up the chain of the anchor, and Batgirl gracefully glide down from the tree she was using as cover.

"How did you know?" Batgirl asked causing Julia to try to peek around Valeria's legs in order to get a better look at her only for the atlantean to push her head back into cover with her tail.

"One, your scents gave you away, two, I just knew something was up when the area got quiet, and three, I could sense all of your killing intent long before any of you even got close to our boat, Penthesilea's especially. It's like...wow, you really got a chip on your shoulder against me, huh?" Valeria remarked making the amazonian general snort and tighten her grip on her blunt tipped bident, but otherwise didn't fly off the handle like Valeria had hoped which she shrugged off.

"You can sense...killing intent?" Barbara confusedly restated as while she had run into a wide variety of powers from a various meta-humans, this one was certainly one of the more odd ones, but she didn't get to dwell on it much longer as Orana gently thumped her arm.

"Don't listen to her; you saw how she acted back at the laboratory where you encountered her. Any words coming out of her crazy, childish mouth are highly suspect," the huntress reasoned while wrapping the tassel of her double-bitted axe around her hand as she along with her cohorts still wanted to feel the situation out.

"To be perfectly fair, besides the incident with Gary, I never lied the entire time I was there," Valeria rightly pointed out while wrapping her tail around Julia's head in order to keep it in place when the girl tried to look around her legs far too much for her liking.

"That's irrelevant; not only did you destroy private property and steal a valuable item, but you hurt a lot of people too," Batgirl retorted making Valeria nod without any sort of hesitation making the heroine narrow her eyes as the atlantean shrugged her shoulders and placed her hands behind her head.

"I did indeed, but those pencil pushing geeks were keeping Motherbox imprisoned and doing who knows what to her so my little jaunt wasn't all that bad," Valeria replied while cheekily smirking at Batgirl who wanted nothing more than to knock the atlantean flat on her ass, but kept her cool along with her amazonian allies.

"I'm glad I don't understand how you think; turn around and lay down on your belly," Batgirl ordered as she slipped on her brass knuckles and bashed them together causing sparks of electricity to cascade like fireworks while Orana and Penthesilea warily leveled their weapons at the atlantean who merely raised a brow.

"Ooh, electric brass knuckles! Pretty snazzy, but they don't quite compare to the Gauntlet of Atlas," Valeria remarked while gesturing to the humongous, metallic glove Penthesilea was wearing on her left arm making the general snort as without having to communicate with Orana, took different positions around the boat deck to cut off Valeria's avenues of escape.

"How Demetria puts up living with you is beyond me," Orana huffed as she slowly advanced on Valeria who continued to keep her hands behind her head without a care in the world before Julia abruptly broke her silence by shouting "Don't bully my mom!"

Widening their eyes for the briefest of moments, Penthesilea and Orana exchanged split second glances with each other before halting their advance in perfect unison while Batgirl's gaze softened, but didn't lower her guard.

"Little One, please step away from the war criminal," Penthesilea requested in a tone trying to mimic Hippolyta's calm, assuring one whenever she talked to one of the younger amazons, but it still came out as a sharp, terse bark making Julia tighten her grip on her mother's leg.

"No, you're going to hurt her if I do!" Julia defiantly shouted while pressing her forehead against the back of Valeria's leg causing the atlantean to affectionately ruffle her hair while never taking her eyes off of her adversaries.

"It's entirely up to Valeria if we harm her or not, Julia," Orana stated causing Valeria to nod, conceding the point, as she considered her options and glanced at her daughter who was shaking slightly making her cast a warm, kind grin at Julia to let her know that everything was going to be okay.

"Hmm, while bondage is one of my kinks, especially being tied up by sexy, muscular gals like you three, I'm going to have to say no. Instead, how about you guys get off my boat before I blow us all up save for Julia to smithereens?" Valeria stated with a wide, sunny grin plastered on her face as her tattoos began glowing brightly making Orana and Penthesilea grit their teeth while Batgirl balked for a split second.

"You'd risk hurting your daughter on the off chance that this insane plan of yours succeeds!?" Batgirl shrieked making Valeria nod immediately as her hands never left their place behind her head while Julia widened her eyes and stared at her mother as if she grew a second head.

"She's just going to be slightly dizzy at the worst if you guys make me go through with it," Valeria replied as if what she said was no big deal where she rocked the boat with a restrained explosion of superheated water when Penthesilea took a baby step toward her.

"So, what's it going to be? Are you going to leave peacefully or am I going to have to follow through with my threat?" Valeria inquired as she held Julia closer to her with her tail where the young girl tensed her muscles and closed her eyes while the trio of warriors felt stuck; they couldn't let Valeria go, but they couldn't take any action either.

"You know we can't just leave-" Batgirl began only for Valeria to cut her off by bellowing, "Explode it is! Let me show you what you guys won!" at the top of her lungs while superheating the water around the boat.

Acting quickly, Orana protectively hugged Barbara while Penthesilea crossed her arms in an x in front of her face as a thunderous explosion rocked the area sending a huge, wide pillar of water to up into the sky like a geyser while surrounding trees were completely stripped of their foliage from the sheer force behind it. Feeling as if she just went twelve rounds with Doomsday, Barbara slowly came to where she saw that she was laying in the water where most of her armor was heavily dented, but also cleanly stripped from her person leaving some of her gnarled flesh exposed. Hissing when the burn marks started acting up, the heroine scanned the area where she saw Orana kneeling down in the water while tightly hugging herself as her body was marred with nasty, agonizing burns and brutal bruises due to taking the brunt of the explosion to protect Batgirl. Standing on her shaky feet, Batgirl limped over to the huntress and knelt down next to where she was about to apply first aid until Orana gently waved her off.

"End this so we can go home," Orana said as she gestured at the shore where Barbara saw Valeria lying unconscious in the water where Julia was trying to rouse her from her slumber by frantically shaking her shoulder.

Saying nothing, Barbara draped her cape over Orana and saw Penthesilea was in similar shape to Orana, but was still able to climb to her feet as she locked eyes with Batgirl and nodded. Returning the gesture, the duo approached Valeria making Julia, who was a bit dizzy like the atlantean said she would be, protectively place herself in front of her mom with her arms outstretched.

"No, I won't let you hurt her!" Julia barked making Penthesilea grumble as she grabbed her bident which was floating in the water and instead of pointing it at the young girl, simply planted the butt end of it down on the ground so it was facing up.

"She doesn't deserve your protection, Little One," the amazonian general spat as all her previous patience went flying out the window thanks to Valeria's stunt making the young girl ball her hands into fists and place them in front of her face like a boxer.

Though she didn't like it, Penthesilea steeled herself for the possibility of coming to blows with Julia, but raised a brow when Batgirl placed a hand on her shoulder, shook her head, and stepped toward the young girl in a non-threatening manner.

"Sweetie, please. I know you love her and don't want her to get hurt, but she did something bad and she has to face the consequences," Barbara reasoned and to Penthesilea's surprise, this actually made Julia sigh softly and lower her arms, though she didn't lower her guard as her gaze immediately snapped to either of them whenever they tried to come closer.

"I know," Julia responded in a voice barely above a whisper while looking down in shame as she thought back to her time on Themyscira and remembered how the children she use to play with looked at her with scorn when Hippolyta was overthrown.

"Do you, Little One? Has Valeria told you why they're on the run or more importantly, has Demetria?" Penthesilea questioned causing Julia to open her mouth, but no sound came out as she looked down at her reflection in the water where she remembered Demetria saying to her, _"I'll...tell you when you're older, but for now, let's just leave it at mom did some things she wished she didn't while serving Princess Diana."_

"No, all she told me is that she did bad things while working for Princess Diana," Julia answered as while doubt started to creep in her mind, still resolved to protect her kind, loving, and scatterbrained mom.

"Well, you're going to learn right here and now; Demetria razed villages to the ground, publicly executed known and suspected rebels, starved her enemies, and slaughtered combatants and non combatants alike. We're lucky the Well of Souls still provides the spirits of women killed by man's violence or we might have died off," Penthesilea ruthlessly informed the young girl who balked as she recalled the drawing she made which included herself, Demetria, and Valeria where she called the two women heroes which, armed with this new information, made her feel silly.

"Fine, I can accept my parents are bad people, but they're still my parents and I will defend them no matter what guys tell me!" Julia passionately yelled before gasping as Penthesilea closed the gap between them in an instant and grasped her forearm with her gauntlet where she hoisted the young girl up like she weighed nothing.

"Bind her and let's go," Penthesilea stated causing Barbara to nod as she limped over to the unconscious Valeria who began to stir and groggily sat up while clutching her head as if she just had the worst hangover in existence.

"Ugh, man, my head is killing me," Valeria groaned while trying to shake the cobwebs from her head as Batgirl slapped an inhibitor collar around her neck and then bound her wrists and ankles in sturdy, taut cuffs meant to hold Superman.

"You'll get plenty of time to recover in your cell," Batgirl quipped as she grabbed Demetria's arm and began to walk toward Penthesilea...only for Valeria to not budge an inch making Barbara gasp as she nearly fell back into the water.

Gritting her teeth, the heroine tugged again only to get the same result making Valeria give her a shit eating grin as she sat on her haunches before saying, "That's rich, you think my physical abilities are linked to my powers."

Snarling under her breathe, Barbara had half a mind to take out her fist-loads and give Valeria a solid cross across her cheek, but restrained herself as Orana, having somewhat recovered from her wounds, hobbled over to them.

"Allow me," the amazon stated as she grabbed Valeria's arm and hauled her to feet making Batgirl nod and thank Orana for earlier to which the amazon grinned while Julia writhed in the general's grip who was trying to wrench her arm behind her back.

"Get off me!" Julia roared as she twisted her body and wrapped her legs around Penthesilea's neck making the general gag as she felt as if she was being strangled by a giant python.

Placing a hand behind Penthesilea's head for stability, Julia leaned back while thrusting her hips like she was doing a backflip which sent the general tumbling overhead where she hit the ground in the shallow water back first with Julia sitting on her upper chest.

" _The pill made her this strong!?"_ Penthesilea mentally shouted as the young girl grasped the general's head and pushed it down to keep it place while throwing out a strong, vicious elbow which Penthesilea blocked with the Gauntlet of Atlas...only to nearly loose all feeling in the limb when she did so.

Fighting off the encroaching numbness, Penthesilea grasped the back of Julia's neck with her normal arm when she reared her arm back for another elbow strike only for the young girl to grasp her forearm in a death grip. Hissing as she felt something crack, Penthesilea wrapped an arm around Julia's waist where she twisted her hips and tossed her off to the side. Mounting her, Penthesilea grasped Julia's entire head with the Gauntlet of Atlas and pushed her head down into the water only to widen her eyes as Julia slowly began pushing the gauntlet away while the general strained to maintain her grip. Even when Batgirl rushed over and placed an inhibitor collar around Julia's neck, the device still couldn't take away the artificially enhanced strength the hybrid was provided. Letting out a war cry, Julia threw Penthesilea off of her where the amazon righted herself in midair and skid backwards while remaining upright. Quickly throwing down a smoke bomb, Batgirl waited until Julia was completely out of sight before entering the fog where she saw Julia cautiously looking around for her in the smoke cloud. Waiting until she thought Julia was off guard, Batgirl lunged at her only for Julia to sniff the air and abruptly sprawl to the ground causing Barbara to twist in midair and land on her feet.

"Sorry about this," Barbara apologized as she flung two batarangs at Julia who crossed her arms in an x in front of her face as the first projectile exploded upon making contact with her arms which made her ears ring.

The second batarang burst like a grenade as well causing the young girl to grit her teeth, but stood her ground as punch augmented by a fist-load slipped past her defenses and nailed her in the cheek. Snarling as all the blow did was annoy her, Julia waited until Batgirl threw another punch at her before grasping her arm with both of her limbs and trapping it underneath her armpit. Growling, Julia applied some pressure making Batgirl scream as she was forced to her knees and tried to dislodge her arm, but the strength disparity was too much to overcome with no amount of skill able to facilitate it.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you were threatening my mother and I. Please leave us alone and I'll stop," Julia said as she flung the heroine onto her back and sat on her upper chest where she stomped down on her wrist so she couldn't reach for her utility belt.

Cursing as Julia tightened her grip which made her arm feel like it was being crushed in a car compacter, Batgirl prepared to knee Julia in the back only for the hybrid to be whacked in the side of the head by the butt end of Orana's axe. Grimacing, Julia relinquished her grip on Batgirl and staggered off to the side as Orana appeared in front of her and threw a punch as a distraction. Pushing the blow away from her, Julia gasped as her legs were suddenly swept from underneath her causing her to fall on her back. Grunting, the hybrid tried to get back up only to feel a sudden weight on her chest and her arm get wrung around making her gnash her teeth with tears welling at her eyes as Orana put her in a shoulder lock. Thrashing her legs to try to get into a better position, Julia cursed when Orana suddenly twisted to the side so she was kneeling over the young girl's head and planted her leg down on the hybrid's arm to keep the limb pinned.

"Julia, please stop," Orana requested her making Julia growl as while she normally would have blushed heavily due to her head being so close to someone's privates, all she could think about was breaking free.

Chomping on Orana's inner thigh, the huntress winced and let out a sharp curse as Julia thrashed her head about like she was trying to rip off a hunk of flesh from her body as if she were a shark. Hissing, the huntress slowly contorted Julia's shoulder making the young girl wail as she felt as if her whole arm was going to be torn from its socket. Not willing to give up, Julia dug her sharp, shark-like teeth even deeper into Orana's thigh making the amazon wail as she, with great regret, dislocated Julia's shoulder with a quick tug. Wincing when she heard Julia scream, Penthesilea spared a quick glance at Valeria who worriedly looked at her daughter while glaring at Orana with clenched fists. Pressing the tip of her bident against Valeria's throat and shooting her a sharp glare, Penthesilea made it clear she would tolerate no resistance making the atlantean snarl, but begrudgingly stay where she was.

"Was that really necessary?" Batgirl barked as she rushed over to Julia and after making sure the hybrid wasn't going to try to attack her, tied her arm in a splint so she wouldn't harm the joint by trying to move the limb around.

"Yes, it was," Orana replied bluntly as she bound Julia's ankles with a length of magical chain she carried on her person before pulling the young girl to her feet and gave her a stern glare as Batgirl bound her wrists with strong cuffs.

"Th-that wasn't very nice, Auntie," Julia stuttered while tearing up a bit making the huntress sigh heavily as she clasped Julia's uninjured shoulder to keep her in place.

"Biting my thigh wasn't very nice either, Julia," Orana replied causing Julia to open her mouth to shout a vitriolic barb at the huntress, but quickly closed it when she realized Orana had a point making her turn away from the amazon.

Grumbling, the young girl looked to her mother and the mouthed that she was fine making Valeria silently sigh in relief before wincing as Penthesilea, while grasping her hair with the Gauntlet of Atlas, dragged her toward her two allies.

"As we agreed, we will take Valeria to this United Nations so she can face punishment for her crimes, but Hippolyta and any other people she wishes to bring better be treated fairly, equitably, and equally or the deal is off," Penthesilea tersely stated making Batgirl resist the urge to groan and roll her eyes in the face of the general's wariness and, with great patience, simply nodded as she pressed a button on her gauntlet to summon the Batwing.

"I understand-" Batgirl began to say only for Orana to cut her off by huffing, "We shouldn't even be doing this. She did more harm to us then she did to them," while giving a pointed glare at Valeria who gave her a shit eating grin in response.

"I understand your frustration sister, and believe me, while I know putting her on trial is the right thing to do, I am still _**very**_ tempted to shove my bident up her ass and through her mouth," Penthesilea began making Valeria, upon hearing this, give the general a wide, lecherous grin before shaking her butt and tail at her.

Ignoring this, Penthesilea tightened her grip on Valeria's head making the atlantean grimace and stop her antics, but the mocking sneer never left her face despite the pain she was in. Taking a deep breathe in and letting it back out, the general told her sister that: "But, we've both seen what isolating ourselves from Man's World has done to Themyscira so it's time to establish relations beyond our borders which is why we need to humor this agreement."

Snorting, the huntress said nothing as her griffon landed near the group causing Orana to lead Julia toward the winged beast where the young girl nervously yelled: "Where are you taking us?"

"You heard where we're taking Valeria, but we're taking you back to Themyscira," Orana explained as she placed her arms on Julia's sides and gently lifted her up onto the griffon where she looped the chains binding her joints around a ring on the saddle.

"Auntie, please, just let us go," the hybrid begged while looking over her shoulder at Valeria who was being dragged by her hair by Penthesilea into deeper water toward her megalodon which she rode here on.

"I can not, and I'm not sorry for doing it, I'm just sorry I have to do it," Orana replied making the hybrid growl and bite on her chains while sparing another glance at Valeria who maintained her warm, assuring smile.

Shedding a single tear at the thought of never seeing her mom again, Julia despairingly dipped her head as she felt the griffon take off into the air...only for a whole cacophony of thunderous bangs to resonate throughout the area. Jolting, Julia frantically looked around as a hailstorm of yellowish-orange projectiles mercilessly slammed into the Batwing where another barrage ripped through the aircraft like a wet paper bag. Fortunately, Batgirl managed to evacuate in time where she gently glided down onto a nearby cliff while Penthesilea deftly deflected and blocked any of the oncoming bullets with her gauntlet and bident only for Valeria to ram her shoulder into her gut. Wheezing, the amazonian general roughly hit the ground and rolled away from any more incoming attacks while blocking the one's she couldn't with her gauntlet as Valeria took cover behind a boulder. Gasping as her griffon was ruthlessly perforated turning her beloved winged creature into bloody paste, Orana protectively hugged Julia as the griffon uncontrollably tumbled in the air where it unintentionally slammed the duo into the cliffside. Retching, Orana continued to shield Julia as the griffon crashed to the ground like a meteor making the hybrid dry heave as the wind was knocked out of her. Shaking the cobwebs from her head, Orana quickly united Julia's restraints from the ring on her saddle and picked up the young girl where she sprinted toward cover while batting away any of the projectiles with her axe.

"Look at the Amazons flee; and you're considered a warrior race?" a voice taunted making Penthesilea cautiously peek around the side of the boulder she was hiding behind where she saw a large group of boudas and werelionesses surrounding the area.

"That we are, mutated one. Now what do you want?" Penthesilea hollered while scanning the area where she saw Orana had punched a hole in the ground where she hid in it while shielding Julia with her body and Batgirl hiding among a series of trees with a batarang at the ready.

"Well, we were just after the one Amazon and her family, but hearing about a group of three more amazons and their vigilante allies on our lands piqued our interests," the voice bellowed which belonged to the same werelioness that Demetria encountered where she jumped off the cliff she was on and landed on the ground with an earthshaking thud.

"Now, I'm going to give you all the same choice I gave the amazon; answer our questions and we'll let you go," the werecreature proclaimed making Penthesilea and Orana gnash their teeth, Batgirl raise a brow, and Julia widen her eyes, but before she could ask what they meant Valeria marched out of cover toward the werelioness.

"What did you do to her?" Valeria questioned as she ripped her hands out of the restraints where she was unfazed by the fact that it stripped off layers of her flesh in the process and with a fair bit of effort, tore off her inhibitor collar.

"I spared her after she explained what she was doing here, but she was most likely finished off by the Avatar of Menhit. She hates Pakhet and her servants, but she _**despises**_ the Regime even more," the werelioness answered with an ever so slight smirk tugging at the corner of her lips causing Valeria to grin as she reached down and yanked her ankles free from their bindings.

"Then there's a chance she's still alive given you don't have absolute confirmation that she's dead. I'll find out once we're done here," Valeria responded as she regenerated the lost flesh on her wrists and ankles and sped up her blood flow causing a searing hot, crimson aura to encapsulate her body.

"So...you think you got me beat just because you transformed into humanoid creatures, are using mystical weapons, and outnumber me? Heh heh...you must think I'm an amateur," Valeria stated with an eager, fanged grin as she set off a chain of controlled explosions which blanketed the area in thick, foggy steam.

Tilting her head, the werelioness gave a bemused grunt and motioned for her warriors to advance into the steam with caution which they did with their muzzleloaders raised while Valeria slowly backed up into the fog.

" _Don't worry, Julia. I'm coming,"_ Valeria stated with absolute, unwavering certainty as she cautiously made her way through the steam while skillfully dispatching any of the boudas and werelionesses she came across.


End file.
